To elucidate the cellular mechanism of endothelin-1 biosynthesis induced by angiotensin and vasopressin, we first cloned and sequenced full-length bovine preproendothelin-1 complementary DNA (cDNA) from a cultured bovine carotid artery endothelial cell cDNA library. The predicted bovine preproendothelin-1 consists of 202 amino acid residues and has a high percentage of homology to human, porcine, and rat preproendothelin-1 (70%, 81%, and 77%, respectively). Big endothelin-1, an intermediate form, consists of 39 residues differing only at position Val28 from porcine (Ile28) and His27 from rat (Arg27). The predicted 21-residue mature endothelin-1 is identical to human, porcine, rat, canine, and mouse endothelin-1. Northern blot analysis with the cloned cDNA as a probe demonstrated that a single 2.3-kb preproendothelin-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) is expressed not only in endothelial cells, but also in various bovine tissues, including lung, brain, heart, intestine, kidney, ovary, and urinary bladder. Angiotensin II and arginine vasopressin immediately and dose-dependently induced expression of preproendothelin-1 mRNA, whose effects were abolished by specific receptor antagonists. These findings suggest that stimulation of endothelin-1 secretion from endothelial cells by both agonists may be principally due to induction of preproendothelin-1 mRNA.