A new role for vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factors: increasing endothelial resistance to oxidative stress.

Intracellular oxidative stress was measured in cultured human umbilical vein or bovine aortic endothelial cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide using an oxidation-sensitive vital dye, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein, and flow cytometry. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) caused both a 5-10-fold increase in resistance to hydrogen peroxide induced fluorescence and an increase in intracellular reduced glutathione concentration. Increased resistance to oxidative stress mediated by growth factors is likely to be biologically relevant, and may open new avenues for therapeutic protection against oxidative stress.