The synergistic effect of endothelin- 1 and basic fibroblast growth factor on rat vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM: The synergistic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and endothelin- 1 (ET-1 ) on rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC) proliferation was observed. The possible mechanism of the synergism was also investigated. METHODS: BrdU incorporation and cell counting method were adopted to value the pro - proliferative effect of VSMC. Western- blotting was used to observe the variation of bFGF and FGFR - 1 isoforms expression. RESULTS: bFGF and ET- 1 could promote VSMC proliferation separately, and synergistically in combination. The synergism was dose - and time - dependent. ET- 1 increased all the three bFGF isoforms and FGFR - 1 protein level in dose - and time- dependent manner. In addition, after exhaustion of intracellular PKC, the upregulation effects of ET- 1 on bFGF and FGFR - 1 expressions in VSMC both inclined. CONCLUSION: bFGF and ET- 1 had synergistic effect on VSMC proliferation. ET- 1 may increase the responsiveness of VSMC to bFGF through modulation of bFGF isoforms together with FGFR - 1, which was PKC - dependent.