Fig. 4.
Dysregulation of endothelin receptor subtype B (ETBR) contributes to exaggerated vasoconstrictor tone in women who have had preeclampsia. Compared with women who had a healthy pregnancy (HC), women who had preeclampsia (PrEC) have an exaggerated vasoconstriction response to endothelin (ET-1, 10−8 M) measured in the cutaneous microvasculature. Coinfusion of the ETBR-antagonist BQ-788 augments vasoconstriction in HC, demonstrating the vasodilatory role of ETBR in healthy premenopausal women. However, coinfusion of BQ-788 attenuates the vasoconstriction response in PrEC, suggesting that ETBR contributes to constriction in women who have had preeclampsia. ETBR-mediated dilation, measured as the increase in cutaneous conductance during coinfusion of the ETAR-antagonist BQ-123, was attenuated in PrEC compared with HC. *P < 0.05 vs. HC; ‡P < 0.05 vs. ET-1 alone within group. These data demonstrate that dysregulation of the ETBR contributes to microvascular dysfunction in women who have had preeclampsia. Adapted with permission of Portland Press, from Stanhewicz et al., Clin Sci (Lond) 131: 2777–2789, 2017 (83).