Journal
NATURE MEDICINE
Volume 12, Issue 2, Pages 225-229Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nm1362
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Funding
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS34179, NS35806] Funding Source: Medline
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Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a rate-limiting enzyme for prostanoid synthesis, has been implicated in the neurotoxicity resulting from hypoxia-ischemia, and its inhibition has therapeutic potential for ischemic stroke. However, COX-2 inhibitors increase the risk of cardiovascular complications. We therefore sought to identify the downstream effectors of COX-2 neurotoxicity, and found that prostaglandin E-2 EP1 receptors are essential for the neurotoxicity mediated by COX-2-derived prostaglandin E-2. EP1 receptors disrupt Ca2+ homeostasis by impairing Na+-Ca2+ exchange, a key mechanism by which neurons cope with excess Ca2+ accumulation after an excitotoxic insult. Thus, EP1 receptors contribute to neurotoxicity by augmenting the Ca2+ dysregulation underlying excitotoxic neuronal death. Pharmacological inhibition or gene inactivation of EP1 receptors ameliorates brain injury induced by excitotoxicity, oxygen glucose deprivation and middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. An EP1 receptor inhibitor reduces brain injury when administered 6 hours after MCA occlusion, suggesting that EP1 receptor inhibition may be a viable therapeutic option in ischemic stroke.
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