Prostaglandin E2 regulates the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor messenger RNA in normal human fibroblasts

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has been reported to control angiogenesis and play an important role in wound healing in soft tissues, although the precise mechanism is still unknown. Since basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been reported to generate neovascularization, PGE2 and bFGF might work closely, or one might control the expression of the other. In this study, we demonstrate that PGE2 enhances the expression of bFGF in normal human fibroblasts, and that calcium ionophore, A23187, and adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, also enhances the expression bFGF mRNA. These results suggest that enhancement of bFGF mRNA stimulated by PGE2 is mainly controlled through EP1 or EP2 and EP4 receptor. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the mechanism of PGE2-induced angiogenesis and wound hearing in soft tissue could be mediated by bFGF through EP1 or EP2 and EP4 receptor.