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1: J Clin Invest. 2006 May;116(5):1391-9. Epub 2006 Apr 13.
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Cyclooxygenases, microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1, and cardiovascular function.

Cheng Y, Wang M, Yu Y, Lawson J, Funk CD, Fitzgerald GA.

Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

We investigated the mechanisms by which inhibitors of prostaglandin G/H synthase-2 (PGHS-2; known colloquially as COX-2) increase the incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke. These inhibitors are believed to exert both their beneficial and their adverse effects by suppression of PGHS-2-derived prostacyclin (PGI(2)) and PGE(2). Therefore, the challenge remains to identify a mechanism whereby PGI(2) and PGE(2) expression can be suppressed while avoiding adverse cardiovascular events. Here, selective inhibition, knockout, or mutation of PGHS-2, or deletion of the receptor for PGHS-2-derived PGI(2), was shown to accelerate thrombogenesis and elevate blood pressure in mice. These responses were attenuated by COX-1 knock down, which mimics the beneficial effects of low-dose aspirin. PGE(2) biosynthesis is catalyzed by the coordinate actions of COX enzymes and microsomal PGE synthase-1 (mPGES-1). We show that deletion of mPGES-1 depressed PGE(2) expression, augmented PGI(2) expression, and had no effect on thromboxane biosynthesis in vivo. Most importantly, mPGES-1 deletion affected neither thrombogenesis nor blood pressure. These results suggest that inhibitors of mPGES-1 may retain their antiinflammatory efficacy by depressing PGE(2), while avoiding the adverse cardiovascular consequences associated with PGHS-2-mediated PGI(2) suppression.

Publication Types:
PMID: 16614756 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC1435722