Summary
Among other proteolytic enzymes, the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA)/plasmin
cascade contributes to cell migration and the formation of capillary-like structures
in a fibrinous exudate. The u-PA receptor (u-PAR) focuses proteolytical activity on
the cell surface of the endothelial cell and hereby accelerates the pericellular matrix
degradation. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor
(FGF)-2 enhance u-PA receptor expression in human endothelial cells. In this paper
we show that the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors Ro31-8220 and GF109203X inhibit
VEGF165-induced u-PAR antigen expression in human endothelial cells, whereas PKC inhibition
had no effect on FGF-2-induced u-PAR antigen enhancement. In addition, inhibition
of PKC activity had no effect on VEGF165-or FGF-2-induced proliferation in human endothelial cells. We conclude that VEGF165 induces u-PAR via a PKC-dependent pathway, whereas proliferation is induced via a
different pathway probably involving tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins downstream
of the VEGF receptors.
Keywords
u-PAR - VEGF - PKC - human endothelial cells