M. Sokolovsky, ENDOTHELIN RECEPTOR SUBTYPES AND THEIR ROLE IN TRANSMEMBRANE SIGNALING MECHANISMS, Pharmacology & therapeutics, 68(3), 1995, pp. 435-471
The endothelins (ETs) are potent vasoactive peptides that appear to be
involved in diverse biological actions, for example, contraction, neu
romodulation, and neurotransmission, as well as in various pathophysio
logical conditions, such as renal and heart failure. The diversity of
actions of ETs may be explained in terms of (1) the existence of sever
al receptor subtypes and (2) the activation of different signal transd
uction pathways. This review summarizes the state of the art in this i
ntensively studied field, with particular focus on structural aspects,
receptor heterogeneity, coupling of receptors to G-proteins, and sign
al transduction mechanisms mediated by the activation of ET-receptors.