Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) sequentially upregulates nitric oxide and prostanoid

Giorgio Zauli1, Assunta Pandolfi, Arianna Gonelli

  • 1Department of Normal Human Morphology, University of Trieste, Via Manzoni 16, 34138 Trieste. zauli@units.it

Circulation Research
|March 22, 2003
PubMed

Endothelial cells express tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptors, but the function of TRAIL in endothelial cells is not completely understood. We explored the role of TRAIL in regulation of key intracellular signal pathways in endothelial cells. The addition of TRAIL to primary human endothelial cells increased phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), NOS activity, and NO synthesis. Moreover, TRAIL induced cell migration and cytoskeleton reorganization in an NO-dependent manner. TRAIL did not activate the NF-kappaB or COX-2 pathways in endothelial cells. Instead, TRAIL increased prostanoid production (PGE2=PGI2>TXA2), which was preferentially inhibited by the COX-1 inhibitor SC-560. Because NO and prostanoids play a crucial role in the state of blood vessel vasodilatation and angiogenesis, our data suggest that TRAIL might play an important role in endothelial cell function.

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