Endothelin Essay -- Health

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading deaths in the United States. Pulmonary hypertension disease one type of cardiovascular disease that is due to the narrowing of the arteries within the lungs. When the arteries are narrowed the right side of the heart is unable to pump blood through the lungs, pressure begin to build up and not enough oxygen is being picked up, therefore causing pulmonary hypertension. If there are damages to the endothelium, it can cause this disease because it can produce more endothelin-1, which is one of the isomer of Endothelin that influence as a vasoconstrictor. Introduction It is important to have treatment available to patients who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Since it is one of the leading causes of deaths in the United States, improving treatments will save many lives. Although heart disease occur more in adult patients, there are possible chances in which infants are affected by a disease known as the congenital heart disease. In order to have treatment for patient with heart disease, we need to look at the molecular level. Patients were examined and documents showed that endothelial injury may be the cause for pulmonary hypertension and other vascular diseases. Presentation Endothelin is a 21 amino acid polypeptide that has 3 different isoforms which are endothelin-1(ET-1), endothelin-2 (ET-2), and endothelin-3 (ET-3). ET-1 is located mainly in the endothelial cell but is a regulator of smooth muscle, heart, and kidney. ET-2 differs from ET-1 by 2 amino acids and is also found in the heart and kidney. ET-3 differs from ET-1 by 6 amino acids and is produced in the central nervous system like ET-1and in gastrointestinal (1). With researches, ET-1 is more focused on in cardiovascu... ...With different experimental data on animals and documents of patient with cardiovascular diseases, there no exact conclusion made on which receptors antagonist may cure the disease. Trials are needed to determine whether ETA/B blockage or just ETA blockade is better in the treatment of hypertension or any other vascular disease. Although both decrease vasoconstriction, potential anti-endothelin therapy is available to patients. Works Cited 1. Agapotiv, Alexei & Haynes, William. â€Å" Role of Endothelin in Cardiovascular Disease.† Journal of Renin0Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, 3.1 (2002): 2-10. . 2. Bohm, Felix & Pernow, John. â€Å"The importance of endothelin-1 for vascular dysfunction in cardiovascular disease.† Cardiovascular Research, 76.1 (2007): 8-18. .