CONVERSION OF BIG ENDOTHELIN-1 TO ENDOTHELIN-1 BY 2-TYPES OF METALLOPROTEINASES OF CULTURED PORCINE VASCULAR SMOOTH-MUSCLE CELLS

Incubation of big endothelin-1 (big ET-1, 1-39) with the membrane fraction obtained from cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) resulted in an increase in immunoreactive-ET (IR-ET), which was inhibited by EDTA but not by phosphoramidon, a metalloproteinase inhibitor. When the incubation was performed in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), the generation of IR-ET was markedly augmented and this augmentation was abolished by phosphoramidon. The pH profile for IR-ET generation in the presence of NEM was apparently distinct from that observed in the absence of NEM. Reversephase HPLC of the incubation mixture with or without NEM revealed one major IR-ET component corresponding to the elution position of synthetic ET-1 (1-21). When the cultured VSMCs were incubated with big ET-1, a conversion to the mature ET-1 was observed. This ET-1 generation from exogenously applied pig ET-1 was markedly inhibited by the addition of phosphoramidon, although the inhibitor did not influence the basal secretion of ET-1-like materials. These results suggest the presence of two types of metalloproteinases, which can generate ET-1, in VSMCs. The possibility that ET-1 functions in an autocrine manner to control the cardiovascular system warrants further attention. © 1991.