Endothelin produces pulmonary vasoconstriction and systemic vasodilation.

Endothelin is a newly described polypeptide derived from endothelial cells. The effects of porcine endothelin on the pulmonary vascular bed and systemic vascular bed were investigated in the anesthetized, intact-chest cat under conditions of constant pulmonary blood flow and left atrial pressure. Intralobar bolus injections of porcine endothelin (100-1000 ng) produced a mild vasoconstrictor response in the pulmonary vascular bed. The pulmonary vasoconstrictor response to endothelin was not altered when pulmonary vasomotor tone was increased by infusion of U46619. In contrast to this mild pulmonary vasoconstrictor response, endothelin decreased systemic arterial pressure. Moreover, injections of porcine endothelin into the right and left atria produced similar reductions in aortic pressure as well as similar increases in cardiac output and decreases in systemic vascular resistance. The systemic vasodilator response to porcine endothelin was not affected by beta 2-adrenoceptor blockade. The present data suggest that endothelin does not undergo significant first-pass pulmonary metabolism. The pulmonary vasoconstrictor response to bolus injections of porcine endothelin is not altered by changes in pulmonary vasomotor tone. In contrast, endothelin markedly dilated the systemic vascular bed independently of activation of beta 2-adrenoceptors. The present study provides the first report of the activity of endothelin on pulmonary and systemic hemodynamics in vivo. Moreover, the potent vasodilator activity of endothelin in the systemic vascular bed and its weak effect on pulmonary vessels suggest that endothelin may be more important in the regulation of peripheral vasomotor tone than the pulmonary vascular bed.