内皮素系统与心肌肥厚

心肌肥厚是心脏对神经介质和压力超负荷等应激反应的一种代偿性机制。内皮素(ET)作为一种具有强大血管收缩作用的活性多肽,在心血管系统,特别是血管内皮细胞、平滑肌细胞和心肌细胞,ET对正常功能的调节起着重要的生理作用。局部心肌组织中ET过度生成与心肌肥厚的发生密切相关,心肌组织中的ET-1通过与特异性的受体结合,并与局部组织中其它相关的血管活性物质相互作用,介导了心肌肥厚的发生和发展过程。内皮素通过ETA受体诱导心肌细胞的肥厚和心肌成纤维细胞的增生,ETB受体则在心肌肥厚的发生和发展中均起作用。内皮素受体作为新的药物靶点,已经成为人们研究的热点,相应的受体拮抗剂的研究也取得了很大的进展。

Endothelins system and myocardial hypertrophy

Cardiac hypertrophy is a major adaptational mechanism in stresses such as pressure overload and neurohumoral stimulation.As powerful vasoconstrictor peptides in cardiovascular system,especially the vascular endothelium,smooth muscle cells and cardiocyte,ETs play important physiological roles in the regulation of normal cardiovascular function.Excessive generation of ETs in local cardiac muscle has been linked to myocardial hypertrophy.Endothelin-1(ET-1) in cardiac muscle exerts its actions in the development of myocardial hypertrophy through binding to specific receptors and interacting with other vasoactive substance of local tissues.ET-1 can induce the hypertrophy for cardiocytes and the proliferation for cardiac fibroblasts by ETA.ETB receptors are implicated both in initiating and maintaining myocardial hypertrophy.As a new target of drug,ET receptors have become the research focus,and great progress has been made on the development of the ET antagonists.