Expression of endothelin-1 gene in blood vessels of adult spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Endothelins are potent vasoconstrictor peptides produced by the endothelium of blood vessels and other tissues, which could play a potentially important pathogenic role in hypertension. In some hypertensive models, endothelin production in blood vessels is enhanced. We have therefore investigated endothelin-1 gene expression in arteries of 17-week old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with established hypertension and Wistar-Kyoto control rats (WKY). The abundance of endothelin-1 mRNA in aorta and mesenteric arteries was evaluated by Northern blot analysis. Endothelin-1 mRNA expression was found to be reduced in the aorta of SHR in comparison to the age-matched WKY, whereas it was similar in mesenteric arteries in both strains. These results agree with the vascular content of immunoreactive endothelin-1 which we previously reported, and indicate that reduced or normal vascular endothelin-1 content in SHR is not the result of rapid turnover of the peptide in SHR blood vessels. Together with normal plasma immunoreactive endothelin-1 and normal or reduced responsiveness of blood vessels of SHR to endothelin-1, this indicates that vascular endothelin-1 does not appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of the elevation of blood pressure in this model of genetic hypertension.