Abundance of endothelin-3 in rat intestine, pituitary gland and brain

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-291X(89)91684-7Get rights and content

Abstract

We established a highly sensitive and specific sandwich-enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for endothelin-3 (ET-3), which showed no crossreactivity with endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelin-2 (ET-2) and big-endothelin-1 (big-ET-1). We had previously established a sensitive sandwich-EIA for ET-1, which fully crossreacted with ET-2, but not with ET-3 or big-ET-1. These EIAs were used to examine the tissue distribution of immunoreactive (ir-) ET-3 and compare them with those of ir-ET-1 (including ir-ET-2) in Sprague-Dawley rats. High concentrations of ir-ET-3 were found in the intestine, lung, pituitary gland and brain (>100 pg/g wet tissue). ir-ET-1(ET-2) showed widespread distribution, with large amounts in the lung and colon (>1000 pg/g wet tissue). The pituitary gland was the only organ containing higher amounts of ir-ET-3 than ir-ET-1 (ET-2). In reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with EIAs, the ir-ET-3 was exclusively eluted at the position of synthetic ET-3, indicating that the ir-ET-3 was identical to ET-3. The abundance of ET-3 in the intestine, pituitary gland and brain indicates that ET-3 is a new brain-gut peptide which may have a physiological function in nervous and endocrine systems.

References (14)

  • Y. Itoh et al.

    FEBS Let

    (1988)
  • K. Kitamura et al.

    Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun

    (1989)
  • N. Suzuki et al.

    J. Immunol. Methods

    (1989)
  • T. Miyauchi et al.

    The Lancet

    (1989)
  • T. Kosaka et al.

    FEBS Let

    (1989)
  • M. Yanagisawa et al.

    Nature

    (1989)
  • A. Inoue et al.
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (367)

  • Congenital diaphragmatic hernia-associated pulmonary hypertension

    2020, Seminars in Perinatology
    Citation Excerpt :

    ETA mediates vasoconstriction by stimulating cytosolic calcium release on pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, while ETB causes vasodilation by stimulating the release of prostacyclin and nitric oxide. Normally, the pulmonary vasculature has the highest levels of ET-1 in the body, and patients with PH usually have elevated levels of ET-1 in their lungs and pulmonary vasculature.19–21 Additionally, studies have found that, in PH, there is an imbalance of endothelin receptors, where a predominance of ETA compared to ETB exists.

  • Expression of endothelin type B receptors in uterine artery smooth muscle cells from pregnant Guinea pigs

    2019, Placenta
    Citation Excerpt :

    ET-1 is known to be highly involved in uterine blood flow regulation and critical for the development of preeclampsia [17]. ET-2 is mainly expressed in intestines and ovaries [18], while ET-3 is highly expressed in the brain and intestinal tract [19] but also in vagina and endometrium [20]. All three ET isoforms are expressed in the female reproductive organs suggesting that they play a role in the paracrine control of the uterine vasculature [20].

  • Endothelins in inflammatory neurological diseases

    2019, Pharmacology and Therapeutics
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text