Platelet factor 4 inhibits FGF2-induced endothelial cell proliferation via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway but not by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway.

Platelet factor 4 (PF-4) is a member of the chemokine family with powerful antiangiogenic properties. The mechanism by which PF-4 inhibits endothelial cell proliferation is unclear. We investigated the effects of PF-4 on the intracellular signal transduction induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2). We found that PF-4 (10 microg/mL) inhibited the FGF2-induced proliferation of adrenal cortex capillary endothelial (ACE) cells. The inhibition of MEK1/2 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) by PD98059 or of PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase) by Ly294002 abolished the proliferation induced by FGF2, suggesting that ACE cell proliferation required dual signaling through both the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and PI3K pathways. Ly294002 had no significant effect on ERK phosphorylation, whereas PD98059 had a weak effect on the phosphorylation of Akt, suggesting that 2 separate cascades are required for ACE cell proliferation. The addition of PF-4 (10 microg/mL) significantly inhibited ERK phosphorylation (95%), showing that PF-4 acted directly on or upstream from this kinase. Surprisingly, PF-4 did not affect FGF2-induced Akt phosphorylation. This suggests that PF-4 disrupts FGF2 signaling via an intracellular mechanism of inhibition. To exclude the possibility that PF-4 inhibited the binding of FGF2 to only one FGF receptor, preferentially activating the ERK pathway, we investigated the effect of PF-4 on FGF2-induced ERK and Akt phosphorylation, using mutant heparan sulfate-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the FGF-R1 cDNA. The addition of PF-4 (1 microg/mL) significantly inhibited ERK phosphorylation (90%), with no effect on Akt phosphorylation, suggesting that PF-4 acts downstream from the FGF-R1 receptor. In conclusion, this is the first report showing that PF-4 inhibits FGF2 activity downstream from its receptor.