To further examine if HCMV induces accumulation of ET-1 precursor protein via an effect on ECE-1 (the enzyme responsible for cleaving the preproET-1 into its mature active form ET-1), we examined if HCMV infection affected expression levels of the ECE-1 protein in HCMV-infected HUVECs. This evidence concerns the gene ECE1 and cytomegalovirus infection.