Nelson Joel, Bagnato Anna, Battistini Bruno, Nisen Perry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 5200 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2003 Feb;3(2):110-6. doi: 10.1038/nrc990.
Collectively, the endothelins and their receptors--referred to as the endothelin (ET) axis--have key physiological functions in normal tissue, acting as modulators of vasomotor tone, tissue differentiation, development, cell proliferation and hormone production. Based on new data, the ET axis also functions in the growth and progression of various tumours. Preliminary results from clinical trials, such as those with atrasentan--an ET(A)-receptor antagonist--in prostate cancer, are encouraging. The place of ET-receptor antagonists in cancer therapy for a range of malignancies merits further investigation.
内皮素及其受体统称为内皮素（ET）轴，在正常组织中具有关键的生理功能，可作为血管舒缩张力、组织分化、发育、细胞增殖和激素产生的调节因子。基于新的数据，ET轴在各种肿瘤的生长和进展中也发挥作用。临床试验的初步结果令人鼓舞，比如使用ET（A）受体拮抗剂阿曲生坦治疗前列腺癌的试验。ET受体拮抗剂在一系列恶性肿瘤的癌症治疗中的地位值得进一步研究。
