Systematic study of constitutive cyclooxygenase-2 expression: Role of NF-κB and NFAT transcriptional pathways.

ABSTRACT: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme that drives inflammation and is the therapeutic target for widely used nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, COX-2 is also constitutively expressed, in the absence of overt inflammation, with a specific tissue distribution that includes the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and thymus. Constitutive COX-2 expression is therapeutically important because NSAIDs cause cardiovascular and renal side effects in otherwise healthy individuals. These side effects are now of major concern globally. However, the pathways driving constitutive COX-2 expression remain poorly understood. Here we show that in the kidney and other sites, constitutive COX-2 expression is a sterile response, independent of commensal microorganisms and not a

SUBMITTER: Kirkby NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4720301 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature