Effects of cytomegalovirus infection on growth factor production in endothelial cells and fibroblasts.

To determine whether cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection alters growth factor production from endothelial cells (EC) or fibroblasts, we infected human umbilical vein EC with CMV VHL/E, a strain of CMV with affinity for human EC, and we infected human foreskin fibroblasts with CMV AD169. CMV caused cytopathic effect and positive CMV staining by immunofluorescence within 5 d, effects not seen in cells infected with UV-irradiated CMV or in uninfected (control) cells. The supernatants from the EC were assayed for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-like protein using a radioreceptor inhibition assay, and EC and fibroblasts were assayed for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) by Western blot analysis. There were no significant differences in PDGF production between groups of EC: CMV-infected EC, 13.5 +/- 2.6; UV-irradiated infected EC, 12.1 +/- 3.6; control EC, 12.9 +/- 1.7 fmol/10(6) EC (mean +/- SD, n = 10, p = NS). There were also no significant differences in bFGF production between CMV-infected EC, UV-irradiated infected EC, and control EC as evidenced by similar intensity of migration of bFGF as a single band at approximately 18 kD (n = 5). In contrast, CMV infection of fibroblasts induced a shift in production of bFGF to higher molecular weight forms migrating at 24 and 26 kD molecular mass. alpha-Interferon failed to alter bFGF production. We conclude that CMV VHL/E infection of EC does not directly alter PDGF or bFGF production from EC. However, CMV infection of cultured human fibroblasts qualitatively alters bFGF by inducing a shift to higher molecular weight forms.