Shear stress increases heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor mRNA levels in human vascular endothelial cells.

Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is a recently identified potent vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) mitogen. We investigated the effect of shear stress on human HB-EGF mRNA levels in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). In response to shear stress (8 dyne/cm2), HB-EGF mRNA levels in HUVEC increased rapidly, peaked at 3 h, and returned to near base line at 7 h. The shear stress-induced HB-EGF gene expression in HUVEC is completely blocked by 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate pre-treatment, suggesting the induction of HB-EGF is mediated by protein kinase C.