Decreased nitric oxide synthesis in human endothelial cells cultured on type I collagen

Endothelial dysfunction, considered as a defective vascular dilatation after certain stimuli, is characteristic of different pathological conditions, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, or diabetes. A decreased synthesis or an increased degradation of nitric oxide (NO) has been postulated as the mechanism responsible for this alteration. The present experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the presence of an abnormal extracellular matrix in vessel walls could be responsible for the decreased NO synthesis observed in these pathological conditions. Experiments were performed in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) grown on type IV (Col. IV) or type I (Col. I) collagen. Cells seeded on Col. I showed decreased nitrite synthesis, nitric oxide synthase activity, eNOS protein content, and eNOS mRNA expression when compared with cells grown on Col. IV. Moreover, cells grown on Col. I failed to respond to glucose oxidase activation of the eNOS system. In both cases, the changes in the eNOS mRNA expression seemed to depend on the modulation of eNOS promoter activity. The downregulation of eNOS induced by Col. I was blocked by D6Y, a peptide that interferes with the Col. I-dependent signals through integrins, as well as by specific anti-integrin antibodies. Moreover, a decreased activation of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) may explain the effects observed in Col. I-cultured cells because the activity of this kinase was decreased in these cells and ILK modulation prevented the Col. I-induced changes in HUVECs. Taken together, these findings may contribute to explaining the basis of endothelial dysfunction in some vascular diseases.