title: Prostaglandin E2 protects lower airways against bronchoconstriction.
abstract: Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), similar to beta-adrenergic receptor agonists, can protect airways from bronchoconstriction and resulting increase in airway resistance induced by a number of agents, including cholinergic receptor agonists and antigen. We examined the impact of sustained alterations in PGE2 pathways on changes in airway resistance. Genetic methods were utilized to alter PGE2 metabolism and signal transduction in the murine lung. PGE2 levels were elevated by generating mice lacking 15-hydroxyprostaglandin (Hpgd-/-), the major catabolic enzyme of PGE2, and by generating a transgenic line in which mouse PGE2 synthase (Ptges) expression is driven by a human lung-specific promoter, hSP-C. Conversely, to determine the impact of loss of PGE2 on airway reactivity, we examined mice lacking this synthase (Ptges-/-) and receptors that mediate the actions of PGE2, particularly the PGE2 EP2 receptor (Ptger2). Diminished capacity to produce and respond to PGE2 did not alter the response of mice to cholinergic stimuli. In contrast, the responsiveness to cholinergic stimulation was dramatically altered in animals with elevated PGE2 levels. The Hpgd-/- and hSP-C-Ptges transgenic lines both showed attenuated airway responsiveness to methacholine as measured by lung resistance. Thus, whereas compromise of the Ptges/PGE2/Ptger2 pathway does not alter airway responsiveness, genetic modulation that elevates PGE2 levels in the lung attenuates airway responsiveness.
authors.affiliation: Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hartney
authors.forename: Kenneth G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Coggins
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tilley
authors.forename: Leigh A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Jania
authors.forename: Alysia Kern
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lovgren
authors.forename: Laurent P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Audoly
authors.forename: Beverly H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Koller
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D016084:Bronchoconstriction / Q000502:physiology*; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006911:Hydroxyprostaglandin Dehydrogenases / Q000172:deficiency; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D000071876:Prostaglandin-E Synthases
chemical_list: D006911:Hydroxyprostaglandin Dehydrogenases; C035859:15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases; C000605862:PTGES protein, human; D000071876:Prostaglandin-E Synthases; C000605865:Ptges protein, mouse; D015232:Dinoprostone