21-Amino-acid peptides produced by vascular endothelial cells and functioning as potent vasoconstrictors. The endothelin family consists of three members, endothelin-1; endothelin-2; and endothelin-3. All three peptides contain 21 amino acids, but vary in amino acid composition. The three peptides produce vasoconstrictor and pressor responses in various parts of the body. However, the quantitative profiles of the pharmacological activities are considerably different among the three isopeptides.