Endothelin 1: Mitogenic Activity on Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells and Release from Hypoxic Endothelial Cells

Endothelin, a recently described vasoconstrictor, has been shown to be a mitogen for vascular smooth muscle cells from systemic arteries and might play a role in pulmonary vascular remodeling produced by chronic exposure to hypoxia. We examined the effects of endothelin on proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and the effects of hypoxia and normoxia on the synthesis and secretion o…