OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of endothelin on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) enzyme inhibitors-induced effects on the gastric mucosa. METHODS This study was carried out in the Department of Pharmacology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey during the period January to December 2002. In the first group ...

PURPOSE Previous studies have suggested an important role of aberrant arachidonic acid metabolism, especially the cyclooxygenase (Cox) pathway, in oral carcinogenesis. However, it is unknown whether the 5-lipoxygenase (5-Lox) pathway contributes to oral carcinogenesis, and whether combination of inhibitors of both pathways may have synergistic or additive effects of chemoprevention. EXPERIMEN...

There are two schools of thought regarding the cyclooxygenase (COX) isoform active in the vasculature. Using urinary prostacyclin markers some groups have proposed that vascular COX-2 drives prostacyclin release. In contrast, we and others have found that COX-1, not COX-2, is responsible for vascular prostacyclin production. Our experiments have relied on immunoassays to detect the prostacyclin...

AIM/PURPOSE We investigated the expression of melanoma-associated antigen gene (MAGE), human synovial sarcoma on X chromosome (SSX) and their clinical implications in sporadic colon cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fresh tissue samples from 37 patients with colorectal adenocarcinomas were analyzed for MAGE and SSX mRNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and their paraffi...

Asthma is characterized by aberrant airways including epithelial thickening, goblet cell hyperplasia, and smooth muscle hypertrophy within the airway wall. The current study examined whether kaempferol inhibited mast cell degranulation and prostaglandin (PG) release leading to the development of aberrant airways, using an in vitro model of dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA)-sensit...

Gene expression in plant mitochondria is still inadequately analyzed. To learn more about transcription and RNA processing in plant mitochondria, the 5'- and 3'-RNA extremities and the promoters of the cytochrome oxidase gene (cox2) were analyzed in pea. Both 5' and 3' ends of cox2 transcripts were examined by RT-PCR across the ligation site of circularized mitochondrial RNA as template. This a...

Air pollution is a complex mixture of gases (e.g., ozone), particulate matter, and organic compounds present in outdoor and indoor air. Dogs exposed to severe air pollution exhibit chronic inflammation and acceleration of Alzheimer's-like pathology, suggesting that the brain is adversely affected by pollutants. We investigated whether residency in cities with high levels of air pollution is ass...

The expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) expression is up-regulated in animal model of ALS and in patients with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). Inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), which is a downstream enzyme of cPLA2, ameliorates the impairment of motor function in the ALS model mice. Therefore, the arachidonic acid cascade, including the cPLA2COX2 pathway, is an ...

This work investigated the effects of Vitamin E (VE) on aberrant crypt foci (ACF) incidence, oxidative stress parameters (serum and hepatic VE concentration, and homocysteine, glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels), and expression of both cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and proliferating cellular nuclear antigen (PCNA) in experimental colorectal carcinogenesis. Male Wistar rats received s...

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have been associated with reduced risks of colon cancer, breast cancer, and other cancer sites (1, 2). We previously reported a strong inverse relationship between NSAID use and breast cancer in a North Carolina study, with a suggestion of stronger associations among African Americans (3). One hypothesized mechanism for the reduction in cancer risk b...