Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1995 Nov 22;216(3):862-7.  

Overexpression of prostacyclin synthase inhibits growth of vascular smooth
muscle cells.

Hara S, Morishita R, Tone Y, Yokoyama C, Inoue H, Kaneda Y, Ogihara T, Tanabe T.

Department of Pharmacology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.

To define the local effects of prostacyclin (PGI2) on the growth of vascular
smooth muscle cells (VSMC), we transfected VSMC with an expression vector
harboring the cDNA for PGI2 synthase (PGIS), which catalyzes the rearrangement
of prostaglandin H2 to PGI2. Transfection of the human PGIS cDNA into rat VSMC
did not affect DNA synthesis under serum-free basal conditions, but it increased
PGI2 synthesis and decreased DNA synthesis under serum-stimulated conditions (in
the presence of 1 or 5% fetal calf serum). These results demonstrated that
locally synthesized PGI2 can exert autocrine and/or paracrine inhibitory effects
on VSMC growth. It was also suggested that in vivo transfer of PGIS gene may be
useful for the gene therapy for vascular disease such as neointimal hyperplasia.

PMID: 7488205 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]