Prostaglandin E₂

Prostaglandin E2 is a lipid that is obtained from arachidonic acid. Prostaglandin hormone is synthesized by the activity of cycloxygenase-2. Prostaglandin E2 controls inflammatory responses and vascular smooth muscle activity.

Prostaglandin E2 has been used as a α-MEM medium supplement for the co-culture of bone marrow macrophages and differentiated osteoblast. It has also been used in the characterization of cells and in vitro decidualization.

Most biologically active prostaglandin. PGE₂ induces cervical ripening and parturition; mediates bradykinin-induced vasodilation; regulates adenylyl cyclase. Tumor cells that over-express cyclooxygenase 2 display increased invasiveness, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis that may be due to the PGE₂-induced expression of angiogenic factors and stabilization of the anti-apoptotic protein, survivin.The effect of PGE₂ on the immune system is mixed. It inhibits T cell activation in vitro, suggesting it is an immunosuppressant. However, in vivo, it appears to effect expansion of the Th17 subset and differentiation of the Th1 subset of T helper cells, marking it as an immunoactivator.

Prostaglandin E2 is a signaling molecule produced by activated platelets. The release of PGE2 by activated platelets is part of a mechanism by which activated platelets utilize adjacent erythrocytes to help in clot formation. This product was shown to lower the filterability of human erythrocytes by approximately 30% at a concentration of 10-10sup M and also caused a reduction in mean cell volume by about 10%. The cause of cell shrinkage was the induction of a PGE2- stimulated K+ efflux pathway leading to rapid loss of cellular K+ ions. This loss was shown to be Ca2+dependent. PGE2 has been shown to stimulate the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by neonatal mouse parietal bones. After 6 hours in culture, cells stimulated with 10-8sup M PGE2 produced significantly more IL-6 than controls. The pyrogenic activity of PGE2 was not inhibited by dexamethasone, unlike prostaglandin F2α.

Most biologically active prostaglandin. PGE2 induces cervical ripening and parturition; mediates bradykinin-induced vasodilation; regulates adenylyl cyclase. Tumor cells that over-express cyclooxygenase 2 display increased invasiveness, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis that may be due to the PGE2-induced expression of angiogenic factors and stabilization of the anti-apoptotic protein, survivin.

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