Analysis of responses to endothelins in isolated porcine blood vessels by using a novel endothelin antagonist, BQ-153.

We examined the effects of a novel ETA-selective endothelin (ET) antagonist, BQ-153, on vascular responses to ET-1 and ET-3 in isolated porcine coronary and pulmonary blood vessels, to clarify the roles of ET receptor subtypes in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle tension. With endothelium-denuded vascular tissues, the concentration-contraction curve (CCC) for ET-1 appeared as a single sigmoidal shape for all types of tissue. The CCC for ET-1 was antagonized by BQ-153 (2 and 10 microM) in all tissues, but part of the contraction was resistant. The CCC for ET-3 usually consisted of two different phases with higher (first phase) and lower (second phase) sensitivities to the peptide. Only the second phase of CCC for ET-3 was completely inhibited by BQ-153 (2 microM) in all tissues, while the first phase was resistant. The BQ-153-resistant contractile phases of ET-1 and ET-3-induced vasoconstriction appeared to have similar sensitivity in all tissues, and the contractile activity varied with each type of tissue. With endothelium-intact materials, the potencies of ET-1 and ET-3 for endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in pulmonary artery were almost equivalent. BQ-153 (10 microM) did not inhibit ET-induced vasorelaxation. These results indicate that ET-induced vasoconstriction is mediated not only through ETA but also through ETnonA (probably ETB), and that the relative proportions of the ET-receptor subtypes mediating contractions vary in different vascular areas. In addition, results showed that ET-induced endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation is mediated through ETB.