Expression pattern of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), their receptors and antagonists in primary endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are important angiogenic growth factors. While basic FGF (FGF2) is well established as a potent inducer of angiogenesis much less is known about other FGFs possibly expressed by EC. We investigated the expression of all known FGFs, their main tyrosine kinase receptors and antagonists by RT-PCR analysis in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) to obtain a complete expression profile of this important growth factor system in model endothelial cells (EC).