Selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors appear to have beneficial renoprotective effects in most, but not all, renal disease conditions. The objective of our study was to examine the effects of COX-2 inhibition in a rat model of polycystic kidney disease. Four-week-old Han:SPRD-cy rats were given a standard rodent diet containing NS-398 (3 mg.kg body wt(-1).day(-1)) or a control diet with...

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) into prostaglandins (PGs). It plays an important role in pathophysiological processes, such as tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, inflammation and tumor cell drug resistance. Therefore, COX-2 has been viewed as an important target for cancer therapy. The preparation of COX-2 protein is an important initia...

BACKGROUND Individuals with Barrett's esophagus, in which the normal squamous esophageal epithelium is replaced with a columnar mucosa, are at increased risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Mucosal injury may be involved in the progression to neoplasia via the synthesis of prostaglandins and other mediators of inflammation. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 is the rate-limiting enzyme involved in prostagla...

BACKGROUND High-grade glioma remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Recent studies in oncology have identified a role of the ubiquitous enzyme, cyclooxygenase (Cox), especially cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in cell proliferation, and its inhibition in cancer control, apoptosis, as well as synergy with other forms of therapy. The inhibitors of the Cox enzyme are well known as members of ...

PURPOSE Cerebral edema is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in patients harboring malignant gliomas. To examine the role of inflammatory cells in brain edema formation, we studied the expression cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, a key enzyme in arachidonic acid metabolism, by microglia in the C6 rodent glioma model. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The expression of COX-2 in primary microglia cult...

Overexpression of the enzyme COX-2 (cyclo-oxygenase-2) is associated with various pathophysiological conditions, including inflammatory diseases and different cancers. Increased synthesis of COX-2 in fetal membranes and the myometrium is also linked with the onset of term and preterm labour. COX-2 gene regulation is controlled at various levels including gene transcription and post-transcriptio...

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a highly inducible enzyme exerting diverse actions on cell functions, including proliferation, migration, and DNA damage. Enhanced COX-2 expression may be protective, but excessive expression may be harmful, causing inflammation, atheromatous plaque instability, and intimal hyperplasia. COX-2 transcriptional activation by proinflammatory mediators has been extensivel...

Aspirin exerts its analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory actions by inhibiting the enzyme cyclooxygenase and thus preventing the formation and release of prostaglandins. The elucidation by John Vane of the mechanism of action of aspirin in 1971 was followed twenty years later by the discovery of a second cyclooxygenase enzyme, COX-2 and the rapid development of selective inhibitors of th...

The enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX) catalyzes the first step of the synthesis of prostanoids. In the early 1990s, COX was demonstrated to exist as two distinct isoforms. COX-1 is constitutively expressed as a “housekeeping” enzyme in most tissues. By contrast, COX-2 can be up-regulated by various proinflammatory agents, including lipopolysaccharide, cytokines, and growth factors. Whereas many of th...