Cyclooxygenase-2 gene disruption attenuates the severity of acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury.
OBJECTIVE
Cyclooxygenase (COX) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in prostaglandin production; the inducible isoform, COX-2, has been implicated in a variety of inflammatory processes. The role of COX in acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury is not known.


METHODS
Acute pancreatitis was induced in Swiss Webster mice or mice deficient in the COX-2 (Ptgs2) or the COX-1 (Ptgs1) genes. Pancreata and lungs were harvested, and histologic sections of these tissues were scored. COX-2 expression, myeloperoxidase activity (a measurement of neutrophil sequestration), and serum amylase levels were determined.


RESULTS
Acute pancreatitis was associated with induction of COX-2 expression. Treatment with NS-398 (a COX-2 inhibitor) significantly decreased the severity of pancreatitis. Furthermore, Ptgs2-deficient mice showed minimal histologic evidence of pancreatitis, a marked attenuation in the severity of lung injury, and a significant reduction in myeloperoxidase activity. In contrast, Ptgs1-deficient mice had pancreatitis and pulmonary inflammation, which was as severe or, in some instances, more severe than in the wild-type mice.


CONCLUSIONS
Inhibition of COX-2 by either pharmacologic inhibition or selective genetic deletion markedly attenuated the severity of acute pancreatitis. Our findings identify the COX-2 isoform as an important regulator of the severity of acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics*; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology; D009578:Nitrobenzenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000235:genetics*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology
D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009578:Nitrobenzenes; D013449:Sulfonamides; C080955:N-(2-cyclohexyloxy-4-nitrophenyl)methanesulfonamide; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; C496512:Ptgs1 protein, mouse