Basic research for novel neurotrophic drugs targeting glial endothelin receptors

在大脑损伤时，如中风、蛛网膜下腔出血和头部创伤，就会出现脑水肿。虽然脑水肿是一种致命的病理，但有效的药物治疗尚未建立。为了开发一种治疗脑水肿的新药，我们利用动物模型研究了脑水肿形成的机制。我们发现，内皮素(ETS)是一种收缩血管的多肽，在大鼠脑内和培养的神经胶质细胞中都是各种水肿因子的有效诱导剂。这些结果表明，抑制脑损伤后神经胶质细胞中的ET受体对预防脑水肿的形成具有有益的作用。

On brain insults, such as stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage and head trauma, brain edema occurs. Although brain edema is a mortal pathology, effective drug treatments for it have not been established. To generate a novel drug against brain edema, mechanisms underlying brain edema formation were examined bbyb using animal models. We found that endothelins, (ETs), a vasoconstricting peptides, are potent inducers of various edema factors in rat brain and in cultured glial cells. These findings suggest that inhibition of ET receptors in glial cells on brain insults have beneficial actions to prevent brain edema frormation.