scholarly journals Enhancement of thrombin-thrombomodulin-catalysed protein C activation by phosphatidylethanolamine containing unsaturated fatty acids: possible physiological significance of phosphatidylethanolamine in anticoagulant activity of thrombomodulin

1994 ◽  
Vol 301 (3) ◽  
pp. 683-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Horie ◽  
H Ishii ◽  
H Hara ◽  
M Kazama
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Protein C ◽  
Unsaturated Fatty Acids ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Anticoagulant Activity ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Human Umbilical Vein ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

The effects of phospholipid vesicles and their fatty acid compositions on the acceleration of Protein C activation by thrombin-thrombomodulin was studied in vitro. Four main phospholipid fractions were prepared from cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and purified thrombomodulin from human placenta was reconstituted into vesicles consisting of phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) alone, PtdCho plus phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn), PtdCho plus phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) and PtdCho plus PtdIns (1:1, w/w in each case). Vesicles of PtdCho, PtdIns/PtdCho, PtdSer/PtdCho and PtdEtn/PtdCho increased thrombin-thrombomodulin-catalysed protein C activation by 1.2-, 1.9-, 4.3- and 8.4-fold respectively compared with that in the absence of phospholipid. This Protein C activation was not affected by distearoyl PtdEtn/distearoyl PtdCho, whereas it was markedly increased with increasing content of unsaturated fatty acid in PtdEtn. The thrombin-dependent Protein C activation by thrombomodulin reconstituted into dilinolenoyl PtdEtn/distearoyl PtdCho was 14.6 times that by thrombomodulin reconstituted into distearoyl PtdEtn/distearoyl PtdCho, as a result of a decrease in the dissociation constant (Kd) for thrombin and the Michaelis constant (Km) for Protein C of thrombomodulin. Binding of Protein C to PtdEtn/PtdCho fixed to a microwell plate required the presence of CaCl2 and increased with increasing degree of unsaturation of fatty acid in PtdEtn. As PtdEtn appeared on the outside of the plasma membrane in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells after thrombin stimulation, it was presumed that Protein C activation could be elevated by PtdEtn at the outer surface of the plasma membrane via an increased affinity between thrombomodulin, thrombin and Protein C, resulting from both increased formation of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex via a conformational change in thrombomodulin and increased binding of Protein C to the membrane phospholipid in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner.

scholarly journals Homocysteine Induces Apoptosis of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells via Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhimin Zhang ◽  
Congying Wei ◽  
Yanfen Zhou ◽  
Tao Yan ◽  
Zhengqiang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Er Stress ◽  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Human Umbilical Vein ◽  
Homologous Protein ◽  
Intracellular Ros ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Homocysteine- (Hcy-) induced endothelial cell apoptosis has been suggested as a cause of Hcy-dependent vascular injury, while the proposed molecular pathways underlying this process are unclear. In this study, we investigated the adverse effects of Hcy on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that moderate-dose Hcy treatment induced HUVEC apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, prolonged Hcy treatment increased the expression of NOX4 and the production of intracellular ROS but decreased the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), resulting in the leakage of cytochrome c and activation of caspase-3. Prolonged Hcy treatment also upregulated glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), activated protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK), and induced the expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and the phosphorylation of NF-κb. The inhibition of NOX4 decreased the production of ROS and alleviated the Hcy-induced HUVEC apoptosis and ER stress. Blocking the PERK pathway partly alleviated Hcy-induced HUVEC apoptosis and the activation of NF-κb. Taken together, our results suggest that Hcy-induced mitochondrial dysfunction crucially modulated apoptosis and contributed to the activation of ER stress in HUVEC. The excessive activation of the PERK pathway partly contributed to Hcy-induced HUVEC apoptosis and the phosphorylation of NF-κb.

scholarly journals Evidence that agonists stimulate bivalent-cation influx into human endothelial cells

1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Hallam ◽  
R Jacob ◽  
J E Merritt
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Free Calcium ◽  
Human Endothelial Cells ◽  
Bivalent Cation ◽  
Human Umbilical Vein ◽  
Fura 2 ◽  
Bivalent Cations ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Human umbilical-vein endothelial cells stimulated with thrombin or histamine show an increase in [Ca2+]i (cytoplasmic free calcium concn.) that is maintained well above the basal pre-stimulated value as long as agonist and a source of extracellular Ca2+ are present. These results provide circumstantial evidence that agonists stimulate influx of Ca2+ across the plasma membrane and into the cytoplasm. Here, we have used Mn2+ as the extracellular bivalent cation which can bind to the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fura-2 to quench its fluorescence completely. Human umbilical-vein endothelial cells were loaded with fura-2 and, in the presence of extracellular Mn2+, thrombin and histamine were shown to cause quenching of the intracellular dye. This result demonstrates conclusively that agonists can stimulate the influx of bivalent cations. Stimulated discharge of Ca2+ from intracellular stores and influx of Mn2+ were temporally resolved in the same cells to show that release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores clearly precedes influx. Influx of Mn2+ was also demonstrated when extracellular Mn2+ was added after agonist at a time when [Ca2+]i had fallen back to the basal value, showing that influx is not dependent on elevated [Ca2+]i.

Angiotensin II AT1 receptors and Na+/K+ ATPase in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

1997 ◽  
Vol 155 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Muscella ◽  
S Marsigliante ◽  
MA Carluccio ◽  
GP Vinson ◽  
C Storelli
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Atpase Activity ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Receptor Subtype ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Ang Ii ◽  
Human Umbilical Vein ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ◽  
Significant Increment

Cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at passage 4 specifically bound 70 +/- 12 fmol [3,5-3H]Tyr4-Ile5-angiotensin (Ang) II/mg protein, with a Kd of 0.9 +/- 0.36 nM. Binding was eliminated in cells preincubated with a monoclonal antibody (6313/G2) raised against the subtype AT1 of the Ang II receptor. Freshly seeded HUVECs were positive for 6313/G2 antibody by immunocytochemistry, and such immunoreactivity was still retained at passage 4. Incubation of HUVECs for 20 min with different concentrations of Ang II provoked a significant increment in Na+/K+ ATPase activity compared with controls, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Maximal response was obtained with 1000 pM Ang II after 20 min stimulation and resulted in a 2.2-fold increment in Na+/K+ ATPase activity. This stimulation was abolished when cells were incubated with 1000 pM Ang II in the presence of 1 microM of the specific AT1 subtype inhibitor, DuP753. Moreover, preincubation of HUVECs with 6313/G2 or with 1 mM dithiothreitol also inhibited the stimulatory effect of Ang II. These results suggest that the AT1 receptor subtype mediates the Na+/K+ ATPase response to Ang II in these cells.

A New Isoxazolic Compound Acts as α7 Nicotinic Receptor Agonist in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 291-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena P. Cortés ◽  
Rocío Alvarez ◽  
Evelyn Sepúlveda ◽  
Felipe Jiménez-Aspee ◽  
Luis Astudillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Therapeutic Angiogenesis ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Human Umbilical Vein ◽  
Α7 Nachr ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Recent evidence suggests that the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) participate in the development of angiogenesis and could be a new endothelial target for revascularization in therapeutic angiogenesis. It has been shown that in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) α7 nAChR agonists increase the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), thus inducing proliferation and vessel formation which are important stages of angiogenesis. In the present study we evaluated the effect of new isoxazole compounds on the cytosolic Ca2+ signal in HUVECs using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fluo-3AM and probing the involvement of α7 nAChR by means of pharmacological tools. HUVECs expressed mainly α7 nAChR, since there was no significant difference in the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by nicotine, a non-selective nicotinic agonist, in relation to choline, a selective α7 nAChR agonist. The increase in [Ca2+]i induced by 1 mM choline was inhibited significantly (p = 0.014) in cells which had been pre-incubated for 15 min with methyllycaconitine (MLA), a selective α7 nAChR antagonist. The studied compounds 1, 2, and 3 induced an increase in [Ca2+]i in a dose-dependent manner. Compound 1 at 10 mM induced a greater increase in [Ca2+]i than compounds 2 and 3. The increase in [Ca2+]i induced by compound 1 was significantly inhibited by MLA (p = 0.013) and completely inhibited by mecamylamine, a non-selective nAChR antagonist, indicating that the isoxazolic compound 1 acts as an α7 nAChR agonist.

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