Prostanoids are important mediators of inflammation and tissue homeostasis. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of prostanoids from arachidonic acid. Of the two isoforms of COX, COX-1 functions in tissue homeostasis whereas COX-2 is more abundant in inflammation. Selective COX-2 inhibition seems effective in reducing inflammation with fewer side effects compared with non-selective COX inhibitors. In this study, the expression of COX-2 in lung inflammation was investigated in two models, which include acute rejection and antigen-induced inflammation. The effect of selective COX-2 inhibition in these models was also determined. COX-2 was expressed in infiltrating cells in both models, in addition to constitutive expression in bronchial epithelium and bronchial smooth muscle cells. Selective COX-2 inhibition significantly reduced the extent of inflammation in both models. These results suggest that selective COX-2 inhibition may be effective in the treatment of acute rejection and asthma.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.30835 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Utsumi, Tomoki. |
| Contributors | Recklies, A. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Division of Surgical Research.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001803823, proquestno: MQ70518, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds