Increased endothelin receptor B and G protein coupled kinase-2 in the mesentery of portal hypertensive rats

Figure 1 Expression of endothelin A receptor in rat mesentery. Expression of endothelin A receptor (ETAR, green) on smooth muscle cells (red) in mesentery of sham-operated rats (A), and common bile duct ligation rats at 2 wk (B) and 4 wk (C). ETAR was expressed extensively in smooth muscle cells of the vascular.

Figure 2 Expression of endothelin B receptor in rat mesentery. Expression of endothelin B receptor (ETBR) in the mesentery of sham-operated rats (A), and common/L on bile duct ligation rats at 2 wk (B) and 4 wk (C). In the mesentery of sham-operated rats, ETBR (green) was mainly expressed in CD31⁺ endothelial cells (red) of the vascular, with weak staining in the microcirculation. With portal pressure rising, ETBR expression was detected in the smooth muscle cells of arterioles and the microcirculation.

Figure 3 Western blots of endothelin A receptor (A), endothelin B receptor (B), G protein coupled kinase-2 (C) and β-arrestin 2 (D) in rat mesentery. Expression of the investigated proteins in mesentery from sham-operated rats and mesentery from common bile duct ligation (CBDL) rats was compared by Western blot. Representative Western blots are shown for each protein and densitometric quantification of all experiments are provided (data are mean ± SE; n = 3-6/group). ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 for CBDL rats vs sham-operated rats. ETAR: Endothelin A receptor; ETBR: Endothelin B receptor; GRK2: G protein coupled kinase-2; D.U.: Densitometric units.