This study reports that endotoxin (Escherichia coli serotype 026:B6) and 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate stimulate cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells to generate prostacyclin. The prostacyclin concentration of the culture medium was measured indirectly by radioimmunoassay for 6-keto-PGF1 alpha. The amount of prostacyclin generated depended on the concentration of endotoxin or phorbo...

Adverse cardiovascular events after lung transplantation (LT) increase the mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Long-term intravenous prostacyclin is the usual treatment in severe patients with PAH, but it may increase the risk of hemorrhage due to its antiplatelet aggregation effect or thrombocytopenia. We investigated the impact of length of intravenous prostacycl...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by vasoconstriction and smooth muscle cell proliferation of the pulmonary arterioles, as well as in situ thrombosis of the small pulmonary arteries. Prostacyclin is involved in PAH vascular remodeling. It is unclear if decreased prostacyclin in the lungs is a cause or a consequence of PAH, but the relative lack of prostacyclin and its posit...

The therapeutic efficacy of prostacyclin in nonhemorrhagic cerebral infarction was assessed in a placebo-controlled double-blind trial. A total of 80 patients with stroke onset within 24 hours were randomized into placebo (37 patients) and prostacyclin (43 patients) groups. Demographic data and risk factors were comparable. Patients in the prostacyclin group received a continuous i.v. infusion ...

Therapies that target the prostacyclin pathway are considered effective, yet are complex to dose and may cause dose-limiting side effects for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Careful side effect management and the ability to discern side effects from worsening disease are essential in order for patients to continue, and benefit from, prostacyclin therapy. This manuscript was...

1. The biotransformation of arachidonic acid and prostacyclin in the circulation was studied in anaesthetized dogs, using the blood-bathed organ technique. 2. In passage through the lungs, arachidonate (50-800 microgram kg-1 min-1) was transformed into prostacyclin. No thromboxane A2 or prostaglandin E2 could be detected in arterial blood. 3. In dogs treated with indomethacin (5 mg/kg), intrave...

BACKGROUND Inhaled prostacyclin and intravenous almitrine have both been shown to improve pulmonary gas exchange in acute lung injury (ALI). This study was performed to investigate a possible additive effect of prostacyclin and almitrine on pulmonary ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) ratio in ALI compared with inhaled prostacyclin or intravenous almitrine alone. METHODS Experimental ALI was establ...

ATP-stimulated prostacyclin release from veins was investigated using epigastric veins isolated from hamsters. Veins were perfused with MOPS-buffered physiological salt solution (PSS). ATP was administered into the perfusate, and the bath solution (MOPS-PSS) was collected and assayed for the presence of the stable prostacyclin metabolite 6-keto-PGF1alpha. ATP (100 microM) resulted in reproducib...

Introduction Prostacyclin is a critical mediator of structure and function in the pulmonary circulation, causing both the inhibition of vascular smooth muscle growth and vasodilatation via the stimulation ofadenylate cyclase. To examine the potential role ofalterations in prostacyclin production or mechanism of action in chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, we determined the effects of prolo...

Overexpression of prostacyclin synthase (PGIS) decreases lung tumor multiplicity in chemical- and cigarette-smoke-induced murine lung cancer models. Prostacyclin signals through a single G-protein-coupled receptor (IP), which signals through cyclic AMP. To determine the role of this receptor in lung cancer chemoprevention by prostacyclin, PGIS-overexpressing mice were crossed to mice that lack ...