Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the obligate, rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins, which mediate mitogenesis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, blood flow, secondary injury, and inflammation. COX is consist of 2 subtypes: COX-1 and COX-2. In recent years, there are a number of lines of evidence that COX-1 and COX-2 play a important in role brain injuries.
Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Brain Injuries/pathology* ; Cyclooxygenase 1/metabolism* ; Cyclooxygenase 2/metabolism* ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neurons/drug effects* ; Rats ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor NS398 on the growth of human pancreatic tumor BxPC-3 cell strain and its possible mechanisms.

METHODSThe effect of NS398 on cell growth was assessed by 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2, 5-diphenyl thiazolyl blue (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was determined by fluorescence-activated cell scanning (FACS) analysis and assessment of the floating cell/attached cell ratio. Caspase-3 activation was evaluated by Active Caspase-3 Apoptosis Kit with flow cytometry. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to demonstrate expression levels of COX-1, COX-2 mRNA, and protein, as well as Caspase-3 protein in pancreatic tumor BxPC-3 cell strain.

RESULTSSelective COX-2 inhibitor NS398 significantly decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis in pancreatic tumor BxPC-3 cell strain. The protein expression of Caspase-3 was induced by high-concentration NS398. Caspase-3 activity was strongly activated by NS398.

CONCLUSIONSSelective COX-2 inhibitor NS398 has antiproliferative and proapoptotic potential in pancreatic tumor BxPC-3 cells. Such effect is independent of COX-2, but correlates with Caspase-3 activation.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Nitrobenzenes ; pharmacology ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Sulfonamides ; pharmacology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The major compounds of Cochinchina momordica seed extract (SK-MS10) include momordica saponins. We report that the gastroprotective effect of SK-MS10 in an ethanol-induced gastric damage rat model is mediated by suppressing proinflammatory cytokines and downregulating cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), and the activation of calcitonin gene-related peptide. In this study, we evaluated the gastroprotective effects of SK-MS10 in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced gastric damage rat model. METHODS: The pretreatment effect of SK-MS10 was evaluated in the NSAID-induced gastric damage rat model using aspirin, indomethacin, and diclofenac in 7-week-old rats. Gastric damage was evaluated based on the gross ulcer index by gastroenterologists, and the damage area (%) was measured using the MetaMorph 7.0 video image analysis system. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting was used to analyze the levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, COX-2, cPLA2, and 5-LOX. RESULTS: All NSAIDs induced gastric damage based on the gross ulcer index and damage area (p<0.05). Gastric damage was significantly attenuated by SK-MS10 pretreatment compared with NSAID treatment alone (p<0.05). The SK-MS10 pretreatment group exhibited lower MPO levels than the diclofenac group. The expression of cPLA2 and 5-LOX was decreased by SK-MS10 pretreatment in each of the three NSAID treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: SK-MS10 exhibited a gastroprotective effect against NSAID-induced acute gastric damage in rats. However, its protective mechanism may be different across the three types of NSAID-induced gastric damage models in rats.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/adverse effects ; Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase/drug effects ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide/drug effects ; Cyclooxygenase 1/drug effects ; Cyclooxygenase 2/drug effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gastric Mucosa/chemistry/drug effects ; Group IV Phospholipases A2/drug effects ; Male ; Momordica/*chemistry ; Peroxidase/drug effects ; Plant Extracts/*pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seeds/*chemistry ; Stomach Ulcer/chemically induced/*prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome

Syringa pinnatifolia Hemsl.( SP) is a representative Mongolian folk medicine with the effects of inhibiting Heyi related diseases,clearing heat and relieving pain. It has been used for the treatment of Heyi-induced heart tingling,heart palpitations,upset,insomnia and other symptoms. Total ethanol extract( T) and major fraction( M) of SP have been evaluated its anti-ischemic effects,and the mechanism was related to the regulation of cyclooxygenase( COX)-mediated inflammatory pathway and p53-mediated apoptosis pathway in our previous studies. This study reports the chemical fractionation on M by which to obtain subfractions( I and M_3),and the pharmacological evaluation of M,I,and M_3 against myocardial ischemia in mice. The result showed that I and M reduced the values of LVEDd and LVEDs,significantly increased EF and FS values,increased serum CK-MB and LDH levels in mice,and reduced in inflammatory cells infiltration and collagen deposition in the infarcted myocardial tissue,suggesting that M and I possess the same degree anti-myocardial is chemia equally whereas M_3 has no this effect. Related mechanism studies suggested that I can reduce the expression of COX-1,COX-2 and p53 protein in myocardial tissue in a dose-dependent manner. This study lays the foundation for further chemical segmentation and clarification of pharmacological substance groups,paving the way for the full use and benefits to be use of systematic biological methods to analyze the pharmacological basis of SP against myocardial ischemia.
Animals ; Cyclooxygenase 1/metabolism* ; Cyclooxygenase 2/metabolism* ; Heart/drug effects* ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism* ; Mice ; Myocardial Ischemia/drug therapy* ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Plant Extracts/therapeutic use* ; Syringa/chemistry* ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism*

AIMTo observe protective effects of safflower injection (SI) on lung ischemia/reperfusion injury (LIRI) and investigate its potential mechanism.

METHODSRabbit lung model of ischemia/reperfusion injury was constituted in vivo. The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operation group (S group), ischemia/reperfusion group (I/R group) and ischemia/reperfusion plus safflower injection group (SI group). Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities in serum were measured. The lung tissue sampled at the end of the experiment was assayed for wet/dry weight ratio (W/D), injured alveoli rate (IAR) and ultrastructural changes were observed under electron microscope. The expression of COX-1 and COX-2 were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The expressions of COX-1mRNA and COX-2mRNA were observed by in situ hybridization (ISH).

RESULTSIn I/R group, XO and MDA increased and SOD decreased in serum, while the same changes happened in SI group but less severely(P<0.01). The value of W/D and IAR was much higher in I/R group than S group, but decreased in SI group. Electron microscope showed obvious ultrastructural injury brought by LIRI in I/R group, which was greatly attenuated in SI group. The IHC and ISH demonstrated that COX-2 and COX-2mRNA in pulmonary tissue of I/R group were significantly higher than those of SI group (P < 0.01). The difference of COX-1 and COX-1mRNA in pulmonary tissue among the three groups was not significant.

CONCLUSIONThe ischemia/reperfusion lung injury insults induced the regulation of COX-2 in lung. Safflower injection may attenuate lung ischemia/reperfusion injury through inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 expression.

Animals ; Carthamus tinctorius ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Lung ; drug effects ; enzymology ; physiopathology ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Rabbits ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; Xanthine Oxidase ; blood

OBJECTIVESTo study the effects of c9,t11-conjugated linoleic acid (c9,t11-CLA) on critical enzymes of linoleic acid metabolism in stomach granular cell (SGC-7901).

METHODSSGC-7901 was treated with c9,t11-CLA by 200, 100, 50 or 25 micromol/L for 24 hours. The effects of c9,t11-CLA on the cell proliferation was measured by monotetrazolium and the expression of Delta6-desaturase, Delta5-desaturase, COX-1, COX-2, 5-LOX mRNA were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSAt a concentration of 200, 100, 50, or 25 micromol/L, c9,t11-CLA suppressed the proliferation of SGC-7901 by 54.3%, 20.5%, 10.5% and 2.93%. The c9,t11-CLA might decrease the expression of COX-2 mRNA, and increase the expression of Delta6-desaturase and COX-1 in SGC-7901, but might not affect Delta5-desaturase and 5-LOX.

CONCLUSIONThe effects of c9,t11-CLA on the COX and Delta6-desaturase might play an important role in mediating the ability of c9,t11-CLA as to inhibiting the proliferation of tumor cells, and the anti-cancer activity by c9,t11-CLA might be associated with the linoleic acid metabolism.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Enzymes ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; Humans ; Linoleic Acids ; metabolism ; Linoleic Acids, Conjugated ; pharmacology ; Lipid Metabolism ; drug effects ; Lipoxygenase ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo study the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of total glycosides of Acanthopanax Giraldii (TGA).

METHODSThe changes of prostaglandin E(2)(PGE(2)), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), nitric oxide (NO), and expressions of COX-1 mRNA and COX-2 mRNA in BALB/c mouse macrophages were observed by the radioimmunoassay, ELISA and nitric acid reduction and RT-PCR in the presence or absence of TGA.

RESULTS(1) TGA could significantly decrease the production of PGE(2)and NO in mouse peritoneal macrophages. The inhibitory rate to LPS-induced PGE(2)production was 87% (TGA 100 mg/L, P<0.05, vs. LPS) and 62% (TGA 20 mg/L, P<0.05, vs. LPS), respectively. The inhibitory rate of NO production in mouse peritoneal macrophages was 49% (TGA 100 mg/L, P<0.05, vs. LPS) and 21% (TGA 20 mg/L, P<0.05 vs. LPS), respectively. TGA could not inhibit LPS-induced TNF-alpha production in mouse peritoneal macrophages. (2) TGA also inhibited the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA in RAW264.7 cells. The inhibitory rate of TGA to COX-1 mRNA was 22% (TGA 100 mg/L, P<0.05, vs. blank). The inhibitory rate of TGA to COX-2 mRNA was 55% (TGA 20 mg/L, P<0.05, vs. LPS) and 100% (TGA 100 mg/L, P<0.01 vs. LPS), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe anti-inflammatory mechanisms of TGA for inhibiting the production of NO and PGE(2)are through inhibiting COX-2 mRNA expression without TNF-alpha changes.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; genetics ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; genetics ; Dinoprostone ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Eleutherococcus ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; drug effects ; Glycosides ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Infection cases of diphyllobothriid tapeworms are not much in the below teen-age group. We report a case of Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense infection in a 13-year-old boy. He presented with severe fatigue, occasional abdominal pain at night time. He also had several episodes of tapeworm segment discharge in his stools. By his past history, he had frequently eaten raw fish including salmon and trout with his families. Numerous eggs of diphyllobothriid tapeworm were detected in the fecal examination. We introduced amidotrizoic acid as a cathartic agent through nasogastroduodenal tube and let nearly whole length (4.75 m) of D. nihonkaiense be excreted through his anus. After a single dose of praziquantel, the child's stool showed no further eggs, and his symptoms disappeared. The evacuated worm was identified as D. nihonkaiense by mitochondrial cox1 gene analysis. Here we report a successful extracorporeal worm extraction from an infection case of D. nihonkaiense by the injection of amidotrizoic acid.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Antiparasitic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Cyclooxygenase 1/genetics ; Diatrizoate Meglumine/*therapeutic use ; Diphyllobothriasis/*drug therapy/parasitology/pathology ; Diphyllobothrium/classification/*drug effects/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Feces/parasitology ; Humans ; Male ; Praziquantel/therapeutic use ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

The involvement of NF-kappaB binding activity is known to be important in the mechanism of acute liver injury and in the induction of cyclooxygenase (COX-2). This study was performed to evaluate NF-kappaB binding activity and the expression of COX-2 in chronic liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (betaCCI(4)). Liver tissues from Sprague - Dawley rats were collected at 1, 3, 5, and 7th week after intraperitoneal injection of 0.1 mL of betaCCI(4)/100 g body weight twice a week. Reactive oxy-gen species (ROS) were measured in the postmitochondrial fraction by dichlorofluorescein formation with a fluorescent probe. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay was performed for NF-kappaB binding activity. Western blot was performed to measure the level of COX-1, COX-2, p65, p50, and I B proteins. ROS and NF-kappaB activity increased during the CCl4-induced chronic liver injury. The expression of nuclear p65 protein and p50 protein increased compared with that of the control, while the cytoplasmic I B protein decreased as the inflammation persisted. The expression of COX-2 in betaCCI(4)-treated rat liver increased compared with that of the control. It could be suggested that ROS produced by betaCCI(4) treatment increased NF-kappaB binding activity and thereby COX-2 expression, and these might be implicated in the progress of chronic liver damage.
Animals ; Biological Transport ; Carbon Tetrachloride/administration & dosage/*adverse effects ; Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning/*metabolism/pathology ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Cytoplasm/metabolism ; I-kappa B Proteins/biosynthesis ; Isoenzymes/*biosynthesis ; Liver/drug effects/*injuries/pathology ; Membrane Proteins ; NF-kappa B/antagonists & inhibitors/*metabolism ; NF-kappa B p50 Subunit ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases/*biosynthesis ; Protein Binding ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Transcription Factor RelA

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of COX1 and COX2 on angiogenesis and endothelial progenitor cell mobilization in rats with experimental myocardial infarction (MI).

METHODSThe rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: MI group, MI plus rofecoxib group and MI plus valeryl salicylate group. At the 7th day after operation, circulating EPCs, plasma VEGF and HIF-1alpha mRNA of ischemic myocardium were measured. At the 28th day post operation, capillary densities were also measured in ischemic myocardium.

RESULTCompared with the MI group and the MI plus valeryl salicylate group, circulating EPCs, plasma VEGF, HIF-1alpha mRNA and capillary densities of ischemic myocardium were all decreased in MI plus rofecoxib group.

CONCLUSIONThe present study revealed that COX2 play an important role with angiogenesis and endothelial progenitor cell mobilization in rat with experimental MI by modulating expression of VEGF and HIF-1alpha.

Animals ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; biosynthesis ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Female ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; biosynthesis ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stem Cells ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood