Smooth muscle cell and endothelial cell growth factors.

Blood vessels are composed basically of two cell types, vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), whose proliferation in vivo is tightly regulated. A number of growth regulatory polypeptides have been identified that stimulate the proliferation of vascular cells. This article reviews briefly the structural properties and biologic activities of the best-characterized vascular cell growth factors.

Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor expression in cultured fetal human vascular smooth muscle cells. Induction of mRNA levels and secretion of active mitogen.

Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is a recently identified potent mitogen for smooth muscle cells (SMC). To explore whether SMC can also synthesize HB-EGF, cultured fetal human vascular SMC (FHVSMC) were analyzed for the production of HB-EGF mRNA and active growth factor. It was found that in FHVSMC, HB-EGF has the characteristics of an early response gene in that (i) the addition of fresh 10% fetal calf serum to serum-starved FHVSMC led to a rapid and transient rise in HB-EGF mRNA levels with a maximal induction of 12-14-fold occurring within 2-4 h, (ii) the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) also elevated HB-EGF mRNA levels rapidly and transiently with a maximal induction of 7-8-fold occurring at 2-4 h, and (iii) cyclohexamide at 40 micrograms/ml markedly increased basal, serum-, and TPA-induced HB-EGF mRNA levels.

Elevated expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 by vascular smooth muscle cells in hypercholesterolemic primates.

Atherosclerosis is marked by an overt inflammatory infiltrate, with enhanced recruitment of monocytes/macrophages observed in both human and experimental atherosclerosis. We previously determined that monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) accounts for virtually all of the chemotactic activity produced by vascular (aortic) smooth muscle cells in culture. We now report that arteries from a primate model of atherosclerosis with dietary-induced hypercholesterolemia exhibit increased levels of MCP-1 mRNA expression in vivo, whereas their normal counterparts demonstrate minimal MCP-1 expression.

Increased translatable mRNA and decreased lipogenesis are responsible for the augmented secretion of lipid-deficient apolipoprotein E by hepatocytes from fasted rats.

We examined the mechanism through which fasting selectively increases the secretion of apoE while it decreases the secretion of all lipoprotein lipids (Davis, R. A., Boogaerts, J.

Glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity in rat muscle: changes during 3-96 weeks of age.

It has been demonstrated that aging diminishes the rate of glucose utilization by rat skeletal muscle. To determine the basis for this occurrence as well as its temporal sequence, glucose utilization was examined in isolated hindquarters of 3-, 5-, 8-, 16-, 24-, 48-, and 96-wk-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. Glucose utilization diminished progressively during early development (3-5 wk) and adolescence (5-16 wk) in hindquarters perfused in the absence of added insulin.