REGULATION OF HUMAN MESANGIAL CELL-GROWTH IN CULTURE BY THROMBOXANE-A2 AND PROSTACYCLIN

Elevated eicosanoid biosynthesis characterizes certain forms of human and experimental glomerular proliferative disease. Thromboxane A2 (TxA2) and other prostaglandins (PG) act through specific receptors and mechanisms of intracellular signal transduction in human mesangial cells. We studied the actions of U-46619, a TxA2 mimetic which stimulates mesangial phospholipase C, and of the PGI2 analogue, Iloprost, a potent activator of adenylate cyclase, on proliferation of cultured human mesangial cells. When applied alone to quiescent cells, U-46619 had only weak mitogenic activity, as assessed by [3H]thymidine ([3H]-TdR) incorporation and cell counts. On the other hand, addition of U-46619 10 minutes prior to stimulation of the cells with 1 to 17% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 24 hours, potently and dose-dependently inhibited FBS-stimulated [3H]-TdR incorporation. Similarly, U-46619 inhibited the effects of 10 ng/ml platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor or basic fibroblast growth factor on [3H]-TdR incorporation, by 55, 79 and 88%, respectively. The effects of U-46619 were not mimicked by another stimulus of phospholipase C, angiotensin II. Iloprost also inhibited FBS-activated proliferation. Neither eicosanoid inhibited the rise of cytosolic Ca2+ induced by FBS or PDGF. The actions of TxA2 and Iloprost in cultured cells point to multiple functional interactions between eicosanoids and growth factors in the control of mesangial cell proliferation.