A novel radiologand [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 selective for endothelin (ET[sub B]) receptors

A linear endothelin (ET) analog, N-acetyl-LeuMetAspLysGluAlaValTryPheAlaHisLeuAspIleIleTrp (BQ-3020), is highly selective for ET[sub B] receptors. BQ-3020 displaces [[sup 125]I]ET-1 binding to ET[sub B] receptors in porcine cerebellar membranes at a concentration 4,700 times lower than that of ET[sub A] receptors on aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). BQ-3929 as well as ET-1 and ET-3 elicits vasoconstriction in the rabbit pulmonary artery. The ET[sub A] antagonist BB-123 failed to inhibit this BQ-3020-induced vasocontraction. Futhermore, BQ-3929 elicits endothelium-dependent vasodilation. These data indicate that BQ-3020 has ET[sub B]agonistic activity. The radioligand [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 binds to cerebellar membranes at single high affinity sites, whereas it scarcely binds to VSMC. [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 binding to the cerebellum was displaced by BQ-3020, ET-1 and ET-3 in a nonselective manner. However, the binding of [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 was insensitive to the ET[sub A] antagonist BQ-123 and other bioactive peptides. Both [[sup 125]I]ET-1 and [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 show slow onset and offset binding kinetics to ET[sub B] receptors. These data indicate that the radioligand [[sup 125]I]BQ-3020 selectively labels ET[sub B] receptors and that the slow binding kinetics of ET-1 are dependent on the peptide sequence from Leu[sup 6] to Trp[sup 21], but not on the structure formed by its two disulfide bridges.