Difference in serum-induced prostacyclin production by cultured aortic and capillary endothelial cells

Prostacyclin (PGl2) generated by vascular endothelial cells play an important role in the maintenance of vessel wall homeostasis. Human plasma-derived serum (PDS) stimulated PGl2 synthesis by both cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) and adrenal capillary endothelial cells (BCEC), but the PGl2 response of the latter cells was far smaller. When BAEC were cultured with a high concentration of glucose (400 mg/dl), the PGl2 synthesis induced by 20% PDS was significantly lower than in the culture with a physiological concentration of glucose (100 mg/dl) (258 +/- 45 pg/10(4) cells/h vs. 402 +/- 52 pg/10(4) cells/h, n = 4, P < 0.05). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the PDS-induced PGl2 synthesis between BCEC cultured with high and physiological concentrations of glucose. Additionally, 10% PDS obtained from patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (n = 6) stimulated significantly less PGl2 synthesis than that from healthy subjects (n = 4) in the case of both BAEC (133 +/- 27 pg/10(4) cells/h vs. 402 +/- 38 pg/10(4) cells/h, P < 0.05) and BCEC (72 +/- 15 pg/10(4) cells/h vs. 118 +/- 12 pg/10(4) cells/h, P < 0.05), with the difference in PGl2 synthesis being smaller for BCEC. These findings indicate that the PDS-induced PGl2 synthesis differs between cultured vascular endothelial cells from large and small vessels with the decrease in PGl2 by diabetic PDS and high glucose being more marked for BAEC than BCEC.