Aminosalicylic acid reduces the antiproliferative effect of hyperglycaemia, advanced glycation endproducts and glycated basic fibroblast growth factor in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells: comparison with aminoguanidine.

Hyperglycaemia reduces proliferation of bovine aortic endothelial cells in vitro. A similar effect in vivo may contribute to long-term complications of diabetes such as impaired wound-healing and retinopathy. We report the effect of increased glucose concentrations, glycated basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) and bovine serum albumin-derived advanced glycation endproducts (BSA-AGE) on the proliferation of bovine aortic endothelial cells. Glucose (30 and 50 mmol/l) had an antiproliferative effect on endothelial cells. This effect may be mediated through reduced mitogenic activity of FGF-2. The glycation of FGF-2 with 250 mmol/l glucose-6-phosphate led to reduced mitogenic activity compared to native FGF-2. BSA-AGE at concentrations of 10, 50 and 250 microg/ml had an antiproliferative effect on cultured endothelial cells. Aminosalicylic acid at a concentration of 200 micromol/l proved to be more effective than equimolar concentrations of aminoguanidine in protecting endothelial cells against the antiproliferative effects of both high (30 mmol/l) glucose and 50 microg/ml BSA-AGE. FGF-2 glycated in the presence of 4 mmol/l aminosalicylic acid or aminoguanidine retained mitogenic activity compared to that glycated in their absence. Compounds like aminoguanidine and, in particular, aminosalicylic acid protect endothelial cells against glucose-mediated toxicity and may therefore have therapeutic potential.