title: Cyclooxygenase expression and prostaglandin levels in central nervous system tissues during the course of chronic relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal counterpart experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) have a major inflammatory component that drives and orchestrates both diseases. One particular group of mediators are the prostaglandins (PGs), which we have previously shown, through quantitation and pharmacological intervention, to be closely involved in the pathology of MS and EAE. The aim of the current study was to determine the expression of the PG-generating cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes and the profile of PGE(2) and PGD(2), in selected central nervous system (CNS) tissues, with the development of the chronic relapsing (CR) form of EAE. In particular, the work investigates the possible relationship between the expression of COX isoenzymes and PG levels during the neurological phases of CR EAE.
  
  
  METHODS
  CR EAE was induced in Biozzi mice with inoculum containing lyophilised, syngeneic spinal cord emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant. The cerebral cortex, cerebellum and spinal cord were dissected from mice during the acute, remission and relapse stages of disease with a minimum of five animals per treatment. The expression of COX-1, COX-1b variant and COX-2, in pooled samples, was determined by Western blotting. PGE(2) and PGD(2) levels in extracted samples were measured using commercial enzyme immunoassay kits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  COX-2 expression in spinal cords during acute disease remained unaltered and was in contrast to an enhancement of the enzyme, together with COX-1 and COX-1b, in all other sampled areas. PGE(2) and PGD(2) levels remained unchanged during the acute phase and the subsequent remission of symptoms. COX-1 and COX-1b expression was elevated in tissues during the relapse stage of CR EAE and concentrations of the prostanoids were markedly increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study examines the implications of COX isoenzyme expression over the course of CR EAE and discusses the reported relationship between PGE(2) and PGD(2) in the instigation and resolution of CNS inflammation. Consideration is also given to the treatment of CR EAE and suggests that drugs designed to limit the inflammatory effects of the PGs should be administered prior to or during the relapse phase of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biochemical Pharmacology, William Harvey Research Institute, St. Bartholomew's and London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors.forename: Samir S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ayoub
authors.forename: Elizabeth G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Sabih-Ul
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bolton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000201:enzymology*; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000378:metabolism; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000379:methods; D007249:Inflammation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D015230:Prostaglandin D2 / Q000378:metabolism; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011453:Prostaglandins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012008:Recurrence; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D011453:Prostaglandins; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D015232:Dinoprostone; D015230:Prostaglandin D2