Physiological Functions
- ETA is a subtype for vasoconstriction These receptors are found in the smooth muscle tissue of blood vessels, and binding of endothelin to ETA increases vasoconstriction (contraction of the blood vessel walls) and the retention of sodium, leading to increased blood pressure.
- ETB1 mediates vasdilation, When endothelin binds to ETB1 receptors, this leads to the release of nitric oxide (also called endothelium-derived relaxing factor), natriuresis and diuresis (the production and elimination of urine) and mechanisms that lower blood pressure.
- ETB3 mediates vasoconstriction
- ETC has yet no clearly defined function.
- ET receptor are also found in the nervous system where they may mediate neurotransmission and vascular functions.
Read more about this topic: Endothelin Receptor
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“Empirical science is apt to cloud the sight, and, by the very knowledge of functions and processes, to bereave the student of the manly contemplation of the whole.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)