Relationship between cyclic AMP and thromboxane formation in platelet-endothelial cell interactions.

Human platelet aggregation was triggered in the presence of various numbers of cultured endothelial cells. Thromboxane B2 formation and platelet cyclic AMP were also measured. Using a low concentration of thrombin (0.025U/ml) as aggregating agent, the inhibition of platelet aggregation correlated with that of thromboxane formation and was directly related to both the number of endothelial cells and platelet cyclic AMP. In contrast, using arachidonic acid (10(-5)M) instead of thrombin, platelet aggregation could be abolished although thromboxane formation was not affected. These results suggest that platelet aggregation induced by low concentrations of thrombin might be dependent on prostaglandin endoperoxides/thromboxane A2 production which could be inhibited by cyclic AMP. The normal synthesis of thromboxane B2 from exogenous arachidonate indicates that cyclic AMP is only active upon the liberation of endogenous arachidonate from platelet phospholipids.

Fatty acid composition in native and cultured human endothelial cells.

Endothelial cells from human umbilical veins were isolated by collagenase treatment. Cells were cultured in the presence of either 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or 20% human serum (HS). At confluency, endothelial cell lipids were labeled with tracer concentrations of tritiated arachidonic acid, then extracted and separated into lipid subclasses by thin layer chromatography. The fatty acid composition of each lipid class was determined by glass capillary gas-liquid chromatography analysis and compared to that of cells freshly isolated from the cord (NC cells). The fatty acid compositions differed only in phospholipids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFAs), arachidonic, and linoleic acids were depleted in FBS cell phospholipids and replaced by both stearic and oleic acids. No significant difference could be observed between NC cell and HS cell phospholipids. We conclude that PFAs might be decreased in FBS cells because of the relative paucity of PFAs in FBS as compared to HS. It seems therefore more convenient to cultivate endothelial cells in the presence of HS, especially in respect to their phospholipid content of arachidonic acid, which is the physiological reservoir for prostacyclin synthesis.