title: Low molecular weight heparin enhances prostacyclin production by cultured human endothelial cells.
abstract: Confluent cultures of vascular endothelial cells derived from the human umbilical vein were incubated in a serum-free medium in the presence of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) with molecular weights of 4000-6000 dalton (Da), or of unfractionated heparin (UFH) with average molecular weight 12,000 Da, and prostacyclin production was determined by radioimmunoassay for 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, the stable metabolite of prostacyclin. LMWH at 1 U/ml as anti-factor Xa activity significantly increased prostacyclin production after 6h or longer; however, UFH at 1 USP U/ml did not induce such a significant change. The LMWH-induced increase in prostacyclin production occurred at 0.1 U/ml and above after 6 h of treatment. Since prostacyclin is both a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation and a vasodilator, it was suggested that the increased endothelial cell prostacyclin production induced by LMWH may be a component of the anticoagulant activity of the drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokuriku University, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaji
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011464:Epoprostenol / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; D011464:Epoprostenol