Copper enhances EDNO (endothelium-derived nitric oxide) activity by cultured human vascular endothelial cells

The effect of copper sulfate (Cu) on viable cell number, endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in cultured human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) was investigated. The viable cell number was not affected by the addition of Cu (1.0-500.0 microM). To assess the effect of EDNO by HUVEC, platelet aggregation experiments were performed, using cuvettes lined with HUVEC. Thrombin (0.05 units/ml)-induced platelet aggregation was markedly inhibited in the presence of HUVEC compared with aggregation in the absence of HUVEC. The HUVEC-dependent anti-platelet aggregatory effect was slightly reduced when HUVEC were pretreated with indomethacin (IND; 1.0 micro M), an inhibitor of the cyclo-oxygenase pathway. However, the thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in the presence of HUVEC pretreated with IND was smaller than that in the absence of HUVEC, which is dependent on EDNO. The anti-platelet aggregatory effect of HUVEC pretreated with IND was increased dose-dependently by 48-hour pretreatment of HUVEC with Cu (1.0-100.0 microM). To assess the effect of Cu on NOS, HUVEC were stained with NOS/NADPH diaphorase. However, there were no significant differences in the NOS-positive HUVEC cell count between cells without Cu and those with various concentrations of Cu. These findings suggest that Cu stimulates the activity of EDNO, which action may be dependent on Cu decreasing EDNO-oxidative damage.