Pharmacological assessment of Ca2+ dependence of endothelin-1-induced response in rat aorta

In rat aorta, endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced a slowly developing and sustained contraction in Ca(2+)-containing normal Krebs, nominally Ca(2+)-free Krebs, and Ca(2+)-free Krebs containing EGTA with a decreasing level of contraction. When ET-1-precontracted tissues were washed with Ca(2+)-free Krebs +50 microM EGTA, the tissues spontaneously and slowly relaxed. Readministration of Ca2+ during the early spontaneous relaxation phase caused a rapidly …