Research paperEffect of endotoxin treatment on the expression on cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin synthases in spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, and skin of rats
Section snippets
Animals
The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the Republic of Austria and carried out in line with the European Communities Council Directive in such a way that animal suffering and the number of animals needed was minimised. Male Sprague–Dawley rats (200–300 g body wt.; Himberg, Austria) received an i.p. injection of 2 mg/kg endotoxin (LPS; lipopolysaccharide Escherichia coli Serotype 055:B5; Sigma, Vienna, Austria) or vehicle. Four
Results
Treatment of rats with endotoxin induced the expression of IL-1β mRNA in skin, DRG, and spinal cord, whilst in the control group the mRNA signal remained below the detection limit of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) protocol (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Endotoxin treatment also induced the expression of COX-2 mRNA (Fig. 1, Fig. 2) and significantly enhanced expression of mPGES mRNA in all tissues investigated (Fig. 1, Fig. 3). In contrast, endotoxin did not significantly
Discussion
It is known that systemic administration of endotoxin, a lipopolysaccharide component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, triggers an increase in the circulating levels of various cytokines (Andersson et al., 1992). In the present study, we have observed prompt stimulation of the expression of IL-1β mRNA in peripheral and CNS tissue following endotoxin administration to rats, suggesting successful induction of an immune response. Several studies have focussed on the mechanisms by
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank I. Lanz and M. Ofner for expert technical assistance. The study was supported by the Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (P-13512-Med). R. Ulcar received financial support from the Natural Sciences Faculty of the Karl Franzens Universität Graz.
References (40)
- et al.
Endothelial cells of the rat brain vasculature express cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in response to systemic interleukin-1 betaA possible site of prostaglandin synthesis responsible for fever
Brain Res
(1996) - et al.
Albumin-catalyzed metabolism of prostaglandin D2. Identification of products formed in vitro
J Biol Chem
(1983) - et al.
Prostaglandin D synthase in human megakaryoblastic cells
J Biol Chem
(1997) - et al.
Cloning, expression, and up-regulation of inducible rat prostaglandin E synthase during lipopolysaccharide-induced pyresis and adjuvant-induced arthritis
J Biol Chem
(2001) - et al.
Inhibition of inducible prostaglandin E(2) synthase by 15-deoxy-Delta(12, 14)-prostaglandin J(2) and polyunsaturated fatty acids
Biochem Pharmacol
(2002) - et al.
Purification and characterization of rat brain prostaglandin D synthetase
J Biol Chem
(1985) - et al.
Prostaglandin D synthaseStructure and function
Vitam Horm
(2000) - et al.
Prostaglandins and cyclooxygenases in the spinal cord
Prog Neurobiol
(2001) - et al.
Biosynthesis of prostaglandin D2 by motoneurons and dorsal horn microneuronsA biochemical and high resolution immunocytochemical study in chick spinal cord
Neuroscience
(1995) - et al.
Identification of beta-trace as prostaglandin D synthase
Biochem Biophys Res Commun
(1994)