Tumor-necrosis-factor-induced fibroblast growth factor-1 acts as a survival factor in a transformed endothelial cell line.

Endothelial cells undergo apoptosis after withdrawal of growth factors, alterations in the extracellular matrix, or exposure to cytokines. Here we report that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha induces apoptosis of human endothelial cells derived from the umbilical vein in a dose-dependent fashion. Apoptosis is triggered through a pathway that is independent from the levels of Bcl-2. On the contrary, TNF stimulates the growth of spontaneously transformed human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This proliferative effect is mediated through the up-regulation of fibroblast growth factor-1 by TNF. The addition of specific fibroblast growth factor-1 antisense oligonucleotides inhibits TNF-induced fibroblast growth factor-1 expression, thus inhibiting the growth and triggering apoptosis of spontaneously transformed human umbilical vein endothelial cells.