Abstract
The effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the production of prostaglandin (PG) F2α and PGE2, and the intracellular mechanisms of its action, were investigated in cultured bovine mid-luteal cells (days 8-12 of the estrous cycle). The cells were cultured for 24 h and then exposed to varying concentrations of bovine recombinant bFGF (rbFGF, 1-100 ng/ml) for a further 24 h. A 24-h stimulation with the highest concentration of rbFGF resulted in increases in both PGF2α and PGE2 production by mid-luteal cells (P<0.05). Both U-73122 (an inhibitor of phospholipase (PL) C, 10-6 M) and anthranilic acid (ACA; an inhibitor of PLA2, 10-5 M) inhibited the rbFGF-induced PGF2α and PGE2 production (P<0.05). Moreover, following down-regulation of protein kinase C with a tumor-promoting phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 10-6 M), the stimulatory effect of rbFGF was no longer evident. These results suggest that locally produced bFGF may play a role as one of the autocrine and/or paracrine stimulators of the production of PGs in bovine corpus luteum, and the stimulatory effect of bFGF on the production of PGs is mediated via the PLC-PKC-PLA2 pathway
