Increased levels of c-fos and c-myc mRNA in ATP-stimulated endothelial cells

In bovine aortic endothelial cells, ATP induced a transient and sequential accumulation of c-fos and c-myc mRNA, which was detected after 1 hour and 3 hours, respectively. The effect of ATP on c-fos mRNA was stronger than that of TNF and bFGF. Both ATP and bFGF increased c-myc mRNA after a 3 hour treatment, whereas TNF did not. If none of the 3 agonists tested induced a selective expression of c-fos or c-myc, each of them was associated with a different quantitative combination of the 2 signals, which might be related to the distinct responses that they trigger in endothelial cells.