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Altered ratio of endothelin ET(A)- and ET(B) receptor mRNA in bronchial biopsies from patients with asthma and chronic airway obstruction.
Using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based assay the ratio of mRNA for the human endothelin ET(A) and ET(B) receptors in bronchial biopsies was assessed. In patients with diagnoses like bronchial cancer, endothelin ET(A) mRNA was the dominating subtype (ratio 3.74 +/- 0.99). Subjects with the diagnosis of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease showed significantly higher levels (ratio 0.81 +/- 0.04) of endothelin ET(B) receptor mRNA compared to endothelin ET(A) receptor mRNA. Our results indicate alterations in the endothelin receptor balance in these states.
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