Summary
Extracellular nucleotides bind to type-2 purinergic/pyrimidinergic (P2) receptors
that mediate various responses, such as cell activation, proliferation and apoptosis,
implicated in inflammatory processes. The role of P2 receptors and their associated
signal transduction pathways in endothelial cell responses has not been fully investigated.
Here, it is shown that stimulation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)
with extracellular ATP or UTP increased intracellular free calcium ion concentrations
([Ca2+]i), induced phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), p130cas and paxillin, and caused cytoskeletal rearrangements with consequent cell migration.
Furthermore, UTP increased migration of HUVEC in a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)-dependent
manner. BAPTA or thapsigargin inhibited the extracellular nucleotide-induced increase
in [Ca2+]i, a response crucial for both FAK phosphorylation and cell migration. Furthermore,
long-term exposure of HUVEC to ATP and UTP, agonists of the G protein-coupled P2Y2
and P2Y4 receptor subtypes, caused upregulation of αv integrin expression, a cell adhesion molecule known to directly interact with P2Y2
receptors. Our results suggest that extracellular nucleotides modulate signaling pathways
in HUVEC influencing cell functions, such as cytoskeletal changes, cellular adhesion
and motility, typically associated with integrin-activation and the action of growth
factors. We propose that P2Y2 and possibly P2Y4 receptors mediate those responses
that are important in vascular inflammation, atherosclerosis and angiogenesis.
Keywords
Endothelial cells - extracellular nucleotides - migration - P2 receptors - FAK