<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>Endothelin-1 belongs to a family of potent vasoconstrictors, recently isolated from endothelial cells.
Endothelin-1 has a variety of hepatic effects and hepatic clearance from the circulation is important.
Elevated plasma concentrations of Endothelin-1 are found after orthotopic liver transplantation and in
cirrhosis with ascites.</p> <p>This study in piglets on hepatic bloodflow was designed to compare differences in effects between central
venous and intraportal injection of endothelin-1, and to evaluate effects of repeated injections. Central
venous injection of endothelin-1 caused a larger reduction in portal vein flow, while intraportal injection
caused a larger increase in portal vein pressure. Repeated injections resulted in a reduction in portal vein
flow and an increase in portal vein vascular resistance.</p>
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HPB Surg. 1996; 9(3):153-159