Suppression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 release from cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells by basic fibroblast growth factor.

We investigated the release of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) from cultured vascular endothelial cells after exposure to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Treatment with human recombinant bFGF of confluent cultures of endothelial cells derived from human umbilical vein resulted in a reduction of the accumulation of PAI-1 antigen (PAI-1:Ag) in the conditioned medium. The suppressive effect of bFGF completely disappeared in the presence of anti-bFGF antibody. The reduction of endothelial PAI-1:Ag release induced by bFGF was suggested to be independent of intracellular accumulation of cyclic AMP. On the other hand, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), an inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism, suppressed the spontaneous release of PAI-1:Ag by itself; in the presence of NDGA, bFGF failed to further suppress the PAI-1:Ag release. The effect of bFGF and indomethacin, an inhibitor of the cyclooxygenase pathway, was additive on the PAI-1:Ag release. The present data suggest that bFGF reduces the endothelial PAI-1:Ag release via suppression of the putative lipoxygenase pathway which up-regulates a part of the spontaneous PAI-1:Ag release.