Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0085580 (essential hypertension)
 14,686 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The renal endothelin (ET) system has been claimed to play an important role in the regulation of renal blood flow (RBF) and sodium excretion in primary hypertension. The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of the endogenous ET system in the autoregulation of total RBF, cortical blood flow (CBF), pressure-dependent plasma renin activity (PRA) and pressure natriuresis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) by means of the combined (A/B) ET-receptor antagonist, bosentan. In anesthetized rats, RBF was measured by transit-time flow probes and CBF by laser flow probes. During the experiments, the rats received an intrarenal infusion of either bosentan (1 mg/kg/h) or vehicle. Renal perfusion pressure (RPP) was lowered in pressure steps of 5 mm Hg with a servo-controlled electropneumatic device via an inflatable suprarenal cuff. Bosentan had no effect on resting RPP, CBF, PRA and renal sodium excretion, whereas RBF was lowered by 30% (p < 0.05). Furthermore after bosentan the rats revealed a complete loss of RBF autoregulation. In contrast no changes in autoregulation of CBF, pressure-dependent PRA and pressure natriuresis were observed. Our findings demonstrate a significant impairment in total RBF autoregulatory ability during renal ET-receptor blockade which is not confined to the cortical vessels. These data suggest that the renal ET system plays an important role in the dynamic regulation of renal blood flow in SHR.
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PMID:Influence of the renal endothelin system on the autoregulation of renal blood flow in spontaneously hypertensive rats. 919 4

Endothelin receptor antagonists have been proposed for the treatment of a variety of disorders in which the endothelins may act as pathogenic mediators, such as congestive heart failure, systemic and pulmonary hypertension, and cerebral vasospasm. Bosentan (Ro 47-0203) is a nonpeptide competitive antagonist, which can be a good tool for studying the endothelin system because it may be administered either acutely or chronically. It is specific for the endothelin system and blocks the actions of endothelin at both mammalian receptors (A and B). In experimental models of heart failure bosentan acts as a vasodilator and neurohormonal blocker that improves overall left ventricular performance and reduces renal dysfunction. Furthermore, in chronic studies, bosentan attenuates cardiac remodeling and significantly improves survival. In patients with chronic heart failure bosentan produces pulmonary and systemic vasodilation and may enhance conventional treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Long-term studies are being conducted to characterize the full therapeutic potential of bosentan in chronic heart failure. In experimental models bosentan reverses established pulmonary hypertension. Preclinical efficacy has also been demonstrated in essential hypertension, where bosentan can reduce blood pressure and end-organ damage. Clinical trials in hypertensive patients indicate that bosentan reduces blood pressure without heart rate increase or neurohumoral stimulation. Finally, bosentan is being considered for the treatment of cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage. Bosentan reverses experimentally induced vasospasm of the basilar artery, and preliminary trials indicate that it can increase cerebral blood flow after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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PMID:Endothelin antagonism with bosentan: a review of potential applications. 1035 41

Endothelin is one of the most potent vasoconstrictors known, but it also plays a role in inflammation, fibrosis and cellular hypertrophy. Endothelin is a key pathogenic factor in congestive heart failure, essential hypertension and pulmonary hypertension. Bosentan is a specific mixed antagonist of endothelin receptors. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that bosentan might become a new approach for the chronic treatment of these cadiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
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PMID:[The pharmacology of endothelin and its antagonist bosentan]. 1079 May 96

Endothelins (ETs) are potent vasoconstrictor peptides and are associated with several disease states like pulmonary hypertension, systemic hypertension and heart failure. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is the first member of the family and it has the receptor subtypes known as ETA and ETB. The receptors ETA and ETB are attractive new therapeutic targets for diseases associated with elevated ET-1 levels. Several studies have thus led to the discovery of selective ETA receptor antagonists as well as non-selective ETA/ETB antagonists. The preclinical and clinical studies have clearly established that these antagonists are effective in the treatment of essential hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and atherosclerosis. The advances in this area have resulted in the FDA approval of the orally active dual antagonist Bosentan for pulmonary hypertension in 2001. This review highlights the synthesis and structure-activity of the endothelin receptor antagonists and covers the literature in this area up to 2001.
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PMID:Endothelin receptor antagonists: an overview of their synthesis and structure-activity relationship. 1585 28

This article describes the pharmacological properties and the overall preclinical and clinical profiling of bosentan (Ro 47-0203), a non-peptide endothelin receptor antagonist with oral activity. Bosentan is a combined and competitive antagonist of both ETA and ETB receptors that is selective for the endothelin system. In vitro and in vivo, bosentan potently antagonises the vascular response elicited by the endothelins. Preclinical efficacy is demonstrated in a variety of pathological models including pulmonary and essential hypertension, renal failure of ischaemic and nephrotic origin and cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage. Effects are particularly marked in experimental models of heart failure (HF) where bosentan acts as a potent vasodilator that improves overall left ventricular performance. After chronic treatment, bosentan also improves survival in rats with HF. As a result of the first encouraging clinical results that show pulmonary and systemic vasodilation, long-term studies are ongoing in the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF).
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PMID:The pharmacology of bosentan. 1599 23

In humans, the endothelins (ETs) comprise a family of three 21-amino-acid peptides, ET-1, ET-2 and ET-3. ET-1 is synthesised from a biologically inactive precursor, Big ET-1, by an unusual hydrolysis of the Trp21 -Val22 bond by the endothelin converting enzyme (ECE-1). In humans, there are four isoforms (ECE-1a-d) derived from a single gene by the action of alternative promoters. Structurally, they differ only in the amino acid sequence of the extreme N-terminus. A second enzyme, ECE-2, also exists as four isoforms and differs from ECE-1 in requiring an acidic pH for optimal activity. Human chymase can also cleave Big ET-1 to ET-1, which is cleaved, in turn, to the mature peptide as an alternative pathway. ET-1 is the principal isoform in the human cardiovascular system and remains one of the most potent constrictors of human vessels discovered. ET-1 is unusual in being released from a dual secretory pathway. The peptide is continuously released from vascular endothelial cells by the constitutive pathway, producing intense constriction of the underlying smooth muscle and contributing to the maintenance of endogenous vascular tone. ET-1 is also released from endothelial cell-specific storage granules (Weibel-Palade bodies) in response to external stimuli. ETs mediate their action by activating two G protein-coupled receptor sub-types, ETA and ET(B). Two therapeutic strategies have emerged to oppose the actions of ET-1, namely inhibition of the synthetic enzyme by combined ECE/neutral endopeptidase inhibitors such as SLV306, and receptor antagonists such as bosentan. The ET system is up-regulated in atherosclerosis, and ET antagonists may be of benefit in reducing blood pressure in essential hypertension. Bosentan, the first ET antagonist approved for clinical use, represents a significant new therapeutic strategy in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
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PMID:Endothelin. 1699 23