Interleukin-6 induced upregulation of basic fibroblast growth factor isoform through phorbol ester-sensitive protein kinase C in rat vascular smooth muscle cells

AIM: The role of protein kinase C(PKC) in the effect of Interleukin-6(IL-6) on basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) expression was investigated in rat vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC). METHODS: Western-blotting was adopted to observe the variation of bFGF and its receptor type I isoforms expression. RESULTS: IL-6 increased all the three basic fibroblast growth factor isoforms in a dose-dependent(0-10.0 μg/L) manner. The upregulatory activities peaked at 24 h as demonstrated. In addition, after exhaustion of intracellular phorbol ester-sensitive PKC, the upregulatory effects of IL-6 on bFGF exprssion in VSMC declined( P <0.01). CONCLUSION: IL-6 increased bFGF expression in a phorbol ester-sensitive PKC-dependent manner in rat VSMC.