Amplification of prostaglandin I2 production by thapsigargin

Rat liver cells (the C-9 cell line) are synergistically stimulated to produce prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) when incubated in the presence of thapsigargin and several recombinant human growth factors or tumor promoters, including basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), teleocidin and aplysiatoxin, but not acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF). The production of PGI2 by exogenous arachidonic acid in the presence of thapsigargin is not amplified. The effects of varying levels of bFGF on PGI2 production in the presence of thapsigargin are biphasic: at low levels (0.05 nM) bFGF's effect is synergistic; at high levels (24 nM) it is not.