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Published online before print November 14, 2008, 10.1183/09031936.00017408
Eur Respir J 2009; 33:502-508
Copyright ©ERS Journals Ltd 2009
doi: 10.1183/09031936.00017408

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Glucocorticoid therapy increases COX-2 gene expression in nasal polyps in vivo

L. Pujols1,2, P. Benitez3, I. Alobid1,2,3, A. Martinez-Antón1,2, J. Roca-Ferrer1,2, J. Mullol1,2,3,5 and C. Picado1,2,4,5

1 Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), 2 Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red (CIBER) Enfermedades Respiratorias, 3 Servei d'Otorrinolaringologia, 4 Servei de Pneumologia i Allèrgia Respiratoria, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 5 Both authors contributed equally to this work with senior responsibilities.

CORRESPONDENCE: C. Picado, Servei de Pneumologia, Hospital Clínic. Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. Fax: 34 934515272. E-mail: cpicado{at}ub.edu

Keywords: Cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2, glucocorticoids, nasal polyps

Received: February 5, 2008
Accepted October 27, 2008

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 in nasal polyps.

In total, 65 patients with nasal polyps were randomly (3:1) treated with (n = 51; 33 with asthma) or without (n = 14) oral prednisone and intranasal budesonide for 2 weeks plus intranasal budesonide for 10 additional weeks. Biopsies were obtained at baseline and after 2 and 12 weeks of treatment. All samples were analysed for cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA. Attempts were made to detect cyclooxygenase-2 protein.

At baseline, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 expression did not differ between polyps from nonasthmatic and asthmatic patients. Cyclooxygenase-1 mRNA was unchanged by glucocorticoid treatment, while cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA increased in glucocorticoid-treated patients at week 2 compared with baseline and then decreased at week 12. Within subgroups, increased cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA was found at week 2 in polyps from nonasthmatic and asthmatic patients compared with baseline. At week 12, cyclooxygenase-2 expression remained high in nonasthmatics while it decreased in asthmatics. Cyclooxygenase-2 protein was not detected under any circumstances.

Glucocorticoid therapy enhances cyclooxygenase-2 expression in vivo in nasal polyps, a finding that does not follow the generally accepted assumption that cyclooxygenase-2 expression is suppressed by glucocorticoids.






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