William Noiles (Editor)
Adel Giaid (Editor)
McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Series: Cardiology Research and Clinical Developments
BISAC: MED010000

Urotensin II (UII) has been shown to cause an endothelium dependant vascular response which has been linked to hypertension and atherosclerosis. It is believed that UII acts on receptors on the intact endothelium to release NO and other vasoactive molecules to cause dilation. In individuals with a damaged endothelium it appears that UII acts directly on VSMC to cause increased contraction via the PKC pathway. More recently UII has been implicated in congestive heart failure, playing a role in cardiac contraction, hypertrophy and collagen deposition. Initial studies in animal models show that the use of UII-antagonists ameliorate the negative responses that occur following damage to the heart, further implicating UII as an important mediator of cardiac change and potential therapeutic target. (Imprint: Nova Biomedical)