Endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 stimulate calcium mobilization by different mechanisms in vascular smooth muscle.

The mechanisms by which endothelin-1 (ET-1) and endothelin-3 (ET-3) stimulate Ca2+ mobilization were investigated in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Both ET-1 and ET-3 potently stimulated mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores, however only ET-1-stimulated Ca2+ mobilization appeared to occur as a consequence of an elevation in cellular inositol trisphosphate (IP3) concentration. Neomycin, an inhibitor of phospholipase C, inhibited both the increase in 3H]IP3 formation and the mobilization of Ca2+ induced by ET-1, however it did not affect Ca2+ mobilization induced by ET-3. Together these findings indicate that ET-1 stimulates Ca2+ mobilization via an increase in IP3, whereas the effect of ET-3 appears to be mediated by a separate, IP3-independent signalling pathway.