The lipid products derived from the cyclooxygenase pathway can have diverse and often contrasting effects on vascular cell function. Cyclopentenone prostaglandins (cyPGs), such as 15-deoxy-prostaglandin-J2 (15d-PGJ2), a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor(PPAR ) agonist, have been reported to cause endothelial cell apoptosis, yet in other cell types, cyPGs induce cytoprotective mediators...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)and retinoic acid X receptor (RXR) heterodimer regulates cell growth and differentiation. Zinc finger transcription factor-9 (Zf9), whose phosphorylation promotes target genes, is a transcription factor essential for transactivation of the transforming growth factor (TGF)1 gene. This study investigated whether activation of PPAR -RXR heterodimer ...

Cyclopentenone prostaglandins (PGs) such as PGA2 and delta 12-PGJ2 act specifically on cells in the G1 phase and induce block of cell cycle progression (Ohno, K., Sakai, T., Fukushima, M., Narumiya, S., and Fujiwara, M. (1988) J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 245, 294-298). In this study, we characterized proteins induced by these PGs in HeLa S3 cells of synchronized growth and examined its association...

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are important for maintaining vascular homeostasis. Dysfunction of ECs contributes to cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, and can impair the healing process during vascular injury. An important mediator of EC response to stress is the GTPase Rac1. Rac1 responds to extracellular signals and is involved in cytoskeletal rearrangement, reactive oxyge...

BACKGROUND A number of prostaglandins (PGs) sensitize dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and contribute to inflammatory hyperalgesia by signaling through specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One mechanism whereby PGs sensitize these neurons is through modulation of "thermoTRPs," a subset of ion channels activated by temperature belonging to the Transient Receptor Potential ion channel ...

Watanabe K, Yokoyama Y, Kokuryo T, Kawai K, Kitagawa T, Seki T, Nakagawa A, Nagino M. 15-Deoxy-prostaglandin J2 prevents inflammatory response and endothelial cell damage in rats with acute obstructive cholangitis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 298: G410–G418, 2010. First published January 7, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00233.2009.—Acute obstructive cholangitis is a common disease with a ...

The common commercial use of phthalate esters has resulted in significant human exposure to these bioactive compounds. The facts that phthalate ester metabolites, like endogenous PGs, are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, and that PPAR agonists induce lymphocyte apoptosis suggest that phthalate esters are immunosuppressants that could act together with PGs to modulate ...

Mechanisms leading to down-regulation of activated microglia and astrocytes are poorly understood, in spite of the potentially detrimental role of activated glia in neurodegeneration. Prostaglandins, produced both by neurons and glia, may serve as mediators of glial and neuronal functions. We examined the influence of cyclopentenone prostaglandins and their precursors on activated glia. As mode...

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) has been considered as a potential target for development anticancer therapeutics. Here, we report novel mechanism by which the cyclopentenone prostaglandin, 15-deoxy-?12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) functions an allosteric inhibitor STAT3. 15d-PGJ2 inhibits phosphorylation, dimerization, nuclear translocation, transcriptional activit...

Prostaglandins (PGs) of the J2 series form in vivo and exert effects on a variety of biological processes. While most of PGs mediate their effects through G protein-coupled receptors, the mechanism of action for the J2 series of PGs remains unclear. Here, we report the PGJ2 and its derivatives are efficacious activators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha and gamma (PPAR alpha ...