ANG II- or AVP-induced increases in protein synthesis are not dependent on autocrine secretion of PDGF-AA

Previous studies have demonstrated that angiotensin II (ANG II) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) stimulate increased protein synthesis and cellular hypertrophy in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC). The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that ANG II- and/or AVP-induced increases in protein synthesis are mediated by autocrine secretion of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA. Results demonstrated that ANG II or AVP increased expression of PDGF-A, but not -B, chain mRNA. Additionally, conditioned media from ANG II- and AVP-treated SMC had increased mitogenic activity for Swiss 3T3 cells, which could be inhibited with a neutralizing antibody to PDGF-AA. However, PDGF-AA-neutralizing antibodies did not inhibit ANG II- or AVP-induced increases in protein synthesis, and exogenous PDGF-AA did not stimulate increased protein synthesis. Furthermore, no PDGF-alpha receptors were evident based on 125I-labeled PDGF-AA binding studies. In summary, results indicate that ANG II- or AVP-induced increases in protein synthesis were not dependent on autocrine secretion of PDGF-AA.