Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 23, 2026

Endothelin 1

Endothelin 1 (ET-1), also known as preproendothelin-1 (PPET1), is the most potent vasoconstrictor produced by the human body. It is a peptide produced by vascular endothelial cells, as well as by cells in the heart and kidney. The protein encoded by this gene – EDN1 – is proteolytically processed to release endothelin 1. Endothelin 1 is one of three isoforms of human endothelin.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
980 w
Citations
17
Source
EDN1
Available structures
PDBOrtholog search: PDBe RCSB
Identifiers
AliasesEDN1, ARCND3, ET1, HDLCQ7, QME, endothelin 1, PPET1
External IDsMGI: 95283; HomoloGene: 1476; GeneCards: EDN1; OMA:EDN1 - orthologs
Orthologs
SpeciesHumanMouse
Entrez
Ensembl
UniProt
RefSeq (mRNA)

NM_001168319
NM_001955

NM_010104

RefSeq (protein)

NP_001161791
NP_001946
NP_001161791
NP_001946

NP_034234

Location (UCSC)Chr 6: 12.29 – 12.3 MbChr 13: 42.45 – 42.46 Mb
PubMed search34
Wikidata
View/Edit HumanView/Edit Mouse

Endothelin 1 (ET-1), also known as preproendothelin-1 (PPET1), is the most potent vasoconstrictor produced by the human body.5 It is a peptide produced by vascular endothelial cells,6 as well as by cells in the heart (affecting contractility) and kidney (affecting sodium handling).7 The protein encoded by this gene – EDN1 – is proteolytically processed to release endothelin 1. Endothelin 1 is one of three isoforms of human endothelin.

Sources

Sources

Preproendothelin is precursor of the peptide ET-1. Endothelial cells convert preproendothelin to proendothelin and subsequently to mature endothelin, which the cells release.68

Clinical significance

Patients with salt-sensitive hypertension have higher plasma ET-1.7 Endothelin-1 receptor antagonists (Bosentan) are used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.6 Use of these antagonists prevents pulmonary arterial constriction and thus inhibits pulmonary hypertension.6

As of 2020, the role of endothelin-1 in affecting lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in obesity mechanisms was under clinical research.9

References

References

  1. GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000078401Ensembl, May 2017
  2. GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000021367Ensembl, May 2017
  3. "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  4. "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  5. Dhaun N, Webb DJ (August 2019). "Endothelins in cardiovascular biology and therapeutics". Nature Reviews. Cardiology. 16 (8): 491–502. doi:10.1038/s41569-019-0176-3. hdl:20.500.11820/70834c34-9404-4855-89c2-8a0fb1016ba8. PMID 30867577.
  6. Davenport AP, Hyndman KA, Dhaun N, Southan C, Kohan DE, Pollock JS, et al. (April 2016). "Endothelin". Pharmacological Reviews. 68 (2): 357–418. doi:10.1124/pr.115.011833. PMC 4815360. PMID 26956245.
  7. Jankowich M, Choudhary G (2020). "Endothelin-1 levels and cardiovascular events". Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine. 30 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2019.01.007. PMID 30765295.
  8. Boulpaep EL, Boron WF (2009). Medical physiology: a cellular and molecular approach. Saunders/Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-4160-3115-4.
  9. Jenkins HN, Rivera-Gonzalez O, Gibert Y, Speed JS (December 2020). "Endothelin-1 in the pathophysiology of obesity and insulin resistance". Obesity Reviews. 21 (12) e13086. doi:10.1111/obr.13086. PMC 7669671. PMID 32627269.
External links

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.