Summary
Proliferation of fibroblasts is vital for adequate wound healing but is probably also
involved in different hyperproliferative disorders such as atherosclerosis and cancer.
The regeneration of tissue usually starts with coagulation, involving release of mitogenic
and inflammatory factors from activated platelets. This study focuses on the role
of eicosanoids in the proliferative effects of platelets on human fibroblasts. We
show that the phospholipase A2 inhibitor 7,7-dimethyl-5,8-eicosadienoic acid (DMDA), the combined cyclooxygenase
(COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitor 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA) and
the LOX inhibitor 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid (ETI) block the platelet-induced proliferation
of serum starved subconfluent human fibroblasts. Anti-proliferative effects were also
obtained by specific inhibition of 5-LOX with 5,6-dehydro arachidonic acid (5,6-dAA),
whereas the 12-LOX inhibitor cinnamyl-3,4-dihydroxy-α-cyanocinnamate (CDC) did not
affect the platelet-stimulated growth of fibroblasts. The expression of 5-LOX was
analyzed by reverse-transcriptase-mediated PCR (RT-PCR), Western blotting and HPLC.
5-LOX message and protein was detected in fibroblasts but not in platelets. Incubation
with platelets markedly increased, already after one hour, the expression of 5-LOX
in the fibroblast culture. The increased 5-LOX activity was associated with an elevated
level of the 5-LOX metabolite 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) reaching its
maximum after 1–2 hours of co-incubation of fibroblasts and platelets. The 5-HETE
production was reduced by the inhibitors DMDA, ETYA and ETI. In conclusion, this study
suggests that platelet-stimulated proliferation of fibroblasts is mediated by an increased
5-LOX activity, which supports recent findings indicating a crucial role for this
enzyme in proliferative disorders such as atherosclerosis.
Keywords
Fibroblasts - platelets - proliferation - 5-lipoxygenase - atherosclerosis