Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) has been implicated in various cardiovascular diseases; however, little is known about the ACE gene regulation in endothelial cells. We have investigated the effect of the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on ACE activity and gene expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Our results showed a 3-and 5-fold increase in ACE activity in the medium and in the cells, respectively, after 24-h stimulation by PMA. We also observed an increase in the cellular ACE mRNA content starting after 6 h and reaching a 10-fold increase at 24 h in response to 100 ng/ml PMA as measured by ribonuclease protection assay. This effect was mediated by an increased transcription of the ACE gene as demonstrated by nuclear run-on experiments and nearly abolished by the specific PKC inhibitor GF 109203X. Our results indicate that PMA-activated PKC strongly increases ACE mRNA level and ACE gene transcription in HUVEC, an effect associated with an increased ACE secretion. A role for early growth response factor-1 (Egr-1) as a factor regulating ACE gene expression is suggested by both the presence of an Egr-1-responsive element in the proximal portion of the ACE promoter and the kinetics of the Egr-1 mRNA increase in HUVEC treated with PMA.Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) 1 is a dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase that generates the vasoconstrictor peptide and growth factor angiotensin II from angiotensin I and inactivates the vasodilator peptide bradykinin (1). ACE also cleaves other peptides such as substance P, enkephalins, neurotensin, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone, but these activities are of unknown physiological relevance (1).ACE is a membrane-bound enzyme located mainly at the luminal face of endothelial cells (EC) in blood vessels (2). In the plasma, ACE is present as a soluble form originating mainly from EC by a proteolytic cleavage (3).The level of ACE is stable in human plasma, and limited data are available on its regulation at the cellular or tissue level (4). In bovine aortic endothelial cells, ACE was shown to be increased slightly by glucocorticoids, density growth arrest, and ACE inhibitors (5-8). Glucocorticoids also induce ACE expression and activity in macrophages and rat vascular smooth muscle cells (9,10). In the latter cells, the induction is synergistic with basic fibroblast growth factor (11). ACE induction is also observed in several pathological processes. After balloon injury in rat arteries, ACE is induced in vascular neointimal cells, and ACE inhibition has a beneficial effect on neointimal proliferation in this experimental model, decreasing the neointima/media ratio (12). ACE was shown to be induced in the aortic wall in different models of rat hypertension such as renovascular hypertension (13) or hypertension induced by chronic administration of the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor N -nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (14). ACE expression is also increased in interstitial cells of the heart during renovascular hypertension...