P2U purinergic activation leads to the cell cycle progression from the G1 to the S and M phases but not from the G0 to G1 phase in vascular smooth muscle cells in primary culture.

The regulation of the cell cycle by extracellular UTP was investigated in rat aortic smooth muscle cells in primary culture (VSMCs) by means of an immunocytochemical analysis of cell cycle-specific nuclear antigens. UTP induced a rise in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) of VSMCs, which was desensitized by pretreatment with ATP, but not with 2-methylthioATP nor alpha, beta-methyleneATP. The incubation of serum-deprived G0 cells with platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) induced cell cycle progression into the G1 phase without any further progression into the S and M phases, while none of the nucleotides had any effect on the cell cycle of the G0 cells. The incubation of the PDGF-pretreated cells at the G1 phase with 2-methylthioATP or alpha, beta-methyleneATP had no effect on the cell cycle of G1 cells, while the incubation of the G1 cells with UTP, ATP, and ATP gamma S stimulated cell cycle progression into the S and M phases. These results thus indicate that P2U purinergic activation mediates a [Ca2+]i transient and a progression growth factor effect of nucleotides in VSMCs.