Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Activators Inhibit Thrombin-Induced Endothelin-1 Production in Human Vascular Endothelial Cells by Inhibiting the Activator Protein-1 Signaling Pathway

Abstract —Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a 21-amino acid vasoactive peptide mainly produced by vascular endothelial cells, is involved in the regulation of vascular tone and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), key players in lipid and glucose metabolism, have been implicated in metabolic disorders that are predisposing to atherosclerosis. Because of the potential role of ET-1 in vascular disorders such as hypertension and atherosclerosis, we investigated the regulation of ET-1 expression by PPAR activators. Western blot and reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analyses demonstrated that both PPARα and PPARγ are expressed in human coronary artery endothelial cells as well as in endothelial cell lines such as HMEC-1 and ECV304. In bovine aortic endothelial cells and HMEC-1 cells, both PPARα and PPARγ ligands inhibited thrombin-induced ET-1 secretion, whereas basal ET-1 secretion was only slightly suppressed. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction experiments showed that this inhibition of ET-1 production occurs at the gene expression level. Using transient transfection assays, we demonstrated that PPARs downregulate thrombin-activated transcription of the human ET-1 promoter. Transactivation studies with c-Jun and c-Fos expression plasmids indicated that PPARs negatively interfere with the activator protein-1 signaling pathway, which mediates thrombin activation of ET-1 gene transcription. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that PPAR activators reduce the thrombin-stimulated binding activity of bovine aortic endothelial cell nuclear extracts as well as c-Jun binding to an activator protein-1 consensus site. Taken together, these data indicate that (1) both PPARα and PPARγ are expressed in human vascular endothelial cells and (2) PPAR activators inhibit thrombin-induced ET-1 biosynthesis, indicating a novel role for PPARs in vascular endothelial function.