EXPRESSION OF PLATELET-ACTIVATING-FACTOR RECEPTOR TRANSCRIPT-2 IS INDUCED BY SHEAR-STRESS IN HUVEC

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an important lipid involved in inf lammation reaction and circulation regulation. The receptor for human PAF is synthesized from two spliced transcripts of the same gene. Our observation in the present study shows that HUVEC express transcript-1 only in the static condition. Shear stress induces the expression of transcript-2 in these cells but not transcript-1, resulting in increas ed PAF receptor expression as measured by FAGS analysis. These results suggest that shear stress may increase the susceptibility of endothel ial cells to PAF by inducing transcript-2 expression.