title: Hepatocyte growth factor stimulates nitric oxide production through endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway and possibly by mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase in vascular endothelial cells.
abstract: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has recently been the focus of attention due to its angiogenic effects, which are similar to those of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); because of these effects, HGF is considered to be a novel therapeutic agent against vascular disorders, including atherosclerotic angiopathies. Although nitric oxide (NO), which is derived from vascular endothelial cells (ECs), is also involved in angiogenesis, little is known regarding the interactions between HGF and NO. We therefore examined the effects of HGF on NO production as well as endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation, and investigated their mechanisms. In bovine aortic ECs, HGF induced a rapid (5 min) increase of NO production measured by diaminofluorescein-2 diacetate. Moreover, HGF rapidly (2.5 min) stimulated eNOS phosphorylation (Ser-1179) as determined by Western immunoblot analyses. Both of these effects were almost completely suppressed by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002, and were partially suppressed by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase 1/2 inhibitor U0126. HGF also stimulated Akt phosphorylation (Ser-473), which was completely suppressed by LY294002 and was partially suppressed by U0126. Moreover, HGF stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation (Thr-202/Tyr-204), which was completely suppressed by U0126 and was partially suppressed by LY294002. Taken together, these results indicate that HGF not only phosphorylates eNOS through the PI3K/Akt pathway, but also partially through the MAPK pathway, and that these two pathways may interact. Compared with VEGF, HGF was more potent in both NO production and eNOS phosphorylation. Our study thus demonstrates a novel activity of HGF-the stimulation of NO production-which occurs via eNOS phosphorylation that may in turn be mediated by cross-talk between the PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Endocrinology, and Vascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uruno
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanatsuka
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taniyama
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Sadayoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000166:cytology; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology*; D019793:Fluorescein; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D012694:Serine / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D019793:Fluorescein; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D012694:Serine; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C414689:4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; C496314:NOS3 protein, human; C494918:AKT1 protein, human