Human chymase, an enzyme forming novel bioactive 31-amino acid length endothelins

We report the novel role of human chymase in the production of bioactive 31-amino acid length endothelins (ETs), which may play a role in allergies and vascular diseases. In the bronchi of asthmatic patients, the vascular tissue in atherosclerosis, and the heart muscle in cardiac hypertrophy, both ET-like immunoreactivity and the accumulation of mast cells significantly increase. Chymase from human mast cells selectively cleaves big ET-1, -2 and -3 at their Tyr31-Gly32 bonds, and produces novel bioactive 31-amino acid length ETs, ETs(1-31), without any further degradation products. However, chymases from other species, human cathepsin G, and porcine alpha-chymotrypsin, degrade big ETs. ETs(1-31) at concentrations between 10(-9) M and 10(-7) M exhibited various contractile potencies in rat tracheae and porcine coronary arteries in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, ET-1(1-31) at concentrations between 10(-14) M and 10(-10) M caused a significant increase in the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. The contractile activity of ETs(1-31) may not be the consequence of conversion to the corresponding ETs(1-21) by phosphoramidon-sensitive ET converting enzyme(s) or other chymotrypsin-type proteases and metallo-endopeptidases, because the contractile activity was not significantly inhibited on treatment with inhibitors of these proteases prior to the addition of ET-1(1-31).