Arthritis refers to different medical conditions associated with disorder of the primary structures that determine joint functions such as bones, cartilage and synovial membranes. Drug discovery and delivery to retard the degeneration of joint tissues are challenging. Current treatments of different arthritis involves administration of ideal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but ar...

Cyclooxigenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandins (PGs). Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is involved in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell-cell signalling; COX-2 is not expressed in normal condition however it is strongly expressed in inflammation. The oral cavity is c...

Increased prostaglandin E2 synthesis is considered important in both human and experimental colon carcinogenesis. It is not known, however, which cyclooxygenase isoenzyme is involved. The aim of this study was to compare the content of mRNA for cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in colorectal cancers with the content in normal colonic specimens. Fifteen human colorectal adenocarcinomas, 35 a...

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) has been shown to exert a variety of biological responses through extracellular specific receptors or intracellular mechanisms. In the present study, we characterized a signaling pathway of S1P-induced cAMP accumulation in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMCs). S1P induced biphasic cAMP accumulation composed of a short-term and transient response (a pe...

A series of p- and m-substituted phenols were examined for their effect on the cyclooxygenase activity of prostaglandin H synthase in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 and 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C. A biphasic response was observed. At low concentrations phenols stimulate, but at higher concentrations inhibit, cyclooxygenase activity. Both enhancement and inhibition are increased by phenolic substi...

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 ...

lation of a series of enzymes and signaling proteins in affected tissues and cells. Among the proinflammatory enzymes, the inducible forms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX), which are responsible for increasing the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGE2), are known to be involved in various chronic diseases including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzhei...