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. 1990 Apr;1(5):435–443. doi: 10.1091/mbc.1.5.435

Heparin inhibits c-fos and c-myc mRNA expression in vascular smooth muscle cells.

L A Pukac 1, J J Castellot Jr 1, T C Wright Jr 1, B L Caleb 1, M J Karnovsky 1
PMCID: PMC361524  PMID: 2099192

Abstract

Heparin is a potent inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth. In this paper we show that heparin suppressed the induction of c-fos and c-myc mRNA in rat and calf VSMC. This effect of heparin is closely associated with its growth-inhibitory activity, as shown by isolating and characterizing a strain of rat VSMC that was resistant to heparin's antiproliferative effect; heparin did not suppress c-fos mRNA induction in these cells. Moreover, neither a nonantiproliferative heparin fragment or other glycosaminoglycans that lack growth-inhibitory activity repressed c-fos or c-myc mRNA levels. The effect of heparin on c-fos mRNA induction was selective for specific mitogens, as heparin inhibited c-fos mRNA induction in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA) stimulated but not epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated VSMC. The effect of heparin on gene expression is independent of ongoing protein synthesis, and inhibition of c-fos mRNA is at the transcriptional level. These results suggest that heparin may selectively inhibit a protein kinase C-dependent pathway for protooncogene induction and that this may be one mechanism used by heparin to inhibit cell proliferation.

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Selected References

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