The endothelin (ET) peptides, ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3, as well as the ETA and ETB receptor subtypes, are known to occur in brain, but there is a dearth of information on the metabolism of these peptides by the central nervous system (CNS). Tn this study we have investigated the kinetics of ET-1 binding to and dissociation from the hybrid neuroblastoma x glioma cell line, NG108-15, which is known to contain functional ET receptors, and metabolism of bound ET-1. [I-125]ET-1 was incubated with cells for various periods of time up to 6 h, and the nature of the radioactivity in the cell medium and lysate was analyzed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that NG108-15 cells are capable of degrading [I-125]ET-1 to [I-125]Tyr and several fragments of intermediate hydrophobicity; however, a portion of the cell-associated [I-125]ET-1 was protected from degradation for several hours. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.