Induction of vascular endothelial growth factor by nitric oxide in cultured human articular chondrocytes

We investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the control of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) gene expression in cultured human articular chondrocytes. Cell treatment with the NO-generating compound nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) caused a significant accumulation of 4.4 kb VEGF mRNA, a major VEGF mRNA isoform expressing in chondrocytes. This is the first demonstration that NO can induce VEGF mRNA expression in chondrocytes. VEGF mRNA level was not affected in cells exposed to dibutyryl cGMP, a non-hydrolyzable analog of cGMP, suggesting that the cGMP system is not involved in NO-dependent transcriptional activation of VEGF gene. The GSNO-stimulated induction of VEGF mRNA was slightly attenuated by MAP protein kinase inhibitors PD98058 and SB203580, but was completely blocked in cells incubated with GSNO in the presence of catalase and superoxide dismutase, enzymes scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), or in the presence of thiol-containing antioxidants, N-acetyl cysteine and reduced glutathione. These results suggest that in articular chondrocytes the GSNO-induced VEGF gene transcriptional activation is dependent on endogenous ROS production and oxidative thiol modifications.