EXPRESSION OF PAI-1, T-PA AND U-PA IN CULTURED HUMAN UMBILICAL VEIN ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS DERIVED FROM RACIAL GROUPS

To determine whether inherent fibrinolytic differences may exist in ra cial groups (black americans, BA vs. white americans, WA), 55 differen t individual racially-derived human umbilical vein endothelial cell (H UVEC) cultures (35 BA and 20 WA) were analyzed in terms of their fibri nolytic protein (t-PA, u-PA and PAI-1) antigen and mRNA levels. Values (mean +/- SD) for measured fibrinolytic component levels include: cel l-associated t-PA antigen (ELISA), 1.14 +/- 0.82 ng/ml8.6 x 10(5) cell s/24 hr in BA and 0.70 +/- 0.85 ng/ml in WA (p=0.0624): secreted t-PA antigen, 18.65 +/- 17.06 ng/ml in BA and 10.37 +/- 6.38 ng/ml in WA (p =0.0422); t-PA/cyclophilin mRNA ratios (Northern blot analysis), 1.90 +/- 1.34 in BA and 1.32 +/- 0.70 in WA (p=0.0776); cell-associated PAI -1 antigen, 71.10 +/- 30.16 ng/ml/8.6 x 10(5) cells/24 hr in BA and 10 8.85 +/- 56.89 ng/ml in WA (p=0.0022); secreted PI-1 antigen 1,582.13 +/- 612.67 ng/ml in BA and 1,992.17 +/- 711.50 ng/ml in WA (p=0.0285); 2.4 kb PAI-1/cyclophilin in mRNA ratios, 0.59 +/- 0.39 in BA and 0.79 +/- 0.31 in WA (p=0.1085); 3.4 kb PAI-1/cyclophilin mRNA ratios, 0.70 +/- 0.47 in BA and 0.77 +/- 0.54 in WA (p=0.6322). These combined dat a suggest that cultured HUVECs from BA express significantly higher le vels of t-PA, lower levels of PAI-1 and similar to 1.72-fold lower mol ar ratio of PAI-1/t-PA antigen (183.99 +/- 168.81 vs. 315.92 +/- 164.9 9) (p < 0.05) than cultured HUVECs from WA, presumably reflecting an a pparent inherent increased fibrinolytic potential in cultured HUVEC de rived from BA.