Experimental Pharmacology of Pulmonary Endothelial Cells

Pulmonary endotheUal cells are important in the regulation of circulating hormones (Ryan 1982), and consequently it is not surprising that certain xenobiotics, which have physicochemical properties similar to those of the endogenous substrates, also serve as substrates or ligands for the specialised enzymes, receptors, binding sites, and transport mechanisms localised on or in endothelial cells. 

Multiple neurohormonal inflammatory/vasoac-tive factors and ischjemia/reperfusion- and/or leucocyte-induced oxygen radicals promote endothelial cell disruption, likely through elevation of intracellular fi-ee Ca. Elevated [Ca ]i induces endothelial cell permeability by promoting contraction (Garcia and Schaphorst 1995). 

A Ca -inhibitable adenylyl cyclase is expressed in rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (Chetham et al. 1997). 

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