Vascular endothelial growth factor upregulates constitutive cyclooxygenase 1 in primary bovine and human endothelial cells.

The effect of the angiogenic cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) expression was examined in human (HUVEC) and bovine (BAE) endothelial cells. VEGF (10 ng/ml) induced constitutive COX-1 expression in both HUVEC and BAE, but not the cytokine-inducible isoform, COX-2, inducible NOS or endothelial NOS. In HUVEC, VEGF (10 ng/ml) increased COX activity, but COX inhibitors had no effect on the proliferative response of endothelial cells to this cytokine. In conclusion the induction of COX-1 by VEGF is not involved in the mitogenic response of endothelial cells, but may be an important regulatory mechanism in the maintenance of vascular integrity.