The sarafotoxins and endothelins are approximately 25-residue peptides that spontaneously fold into a defined tertiary structure with specific pairing of four cysteines into two disulfide bonds. Their structures show an interesting topological similarity to the core of the metalloproteinase interaction sites of the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases. Previous work indicates that sarafotoxi...

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinases are best recognized for their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix in both physiological and pathological conditions. However, recent findings indicate that some of them are also involved in mediating acute processes such as platelet aggregation and vascular tone. The acute contractile defect of the heart after ischemia-reperfusion may involve the pro...

Chronic hypertension leads to adaptive processes in the heart, called remodeling, which are characterized by hypertrophic changes of cardiomyocytes and by structural alterations of the extracellular matrix. Although these processes are initially compensatory and preserve cardiac contractile performance, they finally lead to left ventricular (LV) dilatation and heart failure. Thus, factors playi...