Characteristics of the contractile responses of endothelium-denuded aortic rings to various agonists.

The agonists used are KCl, phenylephrine (PE), arginine-vasopressin (AVP), and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Results are presented as Emax, corresponding to the maximal effect elicited by each agonist expressed in terms of isometric tension (g), and EC50 values (in mmol/L or nmol/L), indicating the concentration at which 50% of the maximal effect is induced. Values represent the mean±s.e.m. of 5 animals, with experiments performed in duplicate.