Department of Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical College, Asahikawa, Japan.
Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Feb;129(2):195-205. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2010.09.004.
Prostanoids consisting of prostaglandins (PGs) and thromboxanes (TXs) are produced from arachidonic acids, representative fatty acids contained in cell membrane, by the sequential actions of phospholipase A(2), cyclooxygenases and respective prostanoid synthases. Prostanoids are released outside of the cells immediately after biosynthesis and exert a wide range of actions in the body. These actions are mediated by their respective G protein-coupled receptors expressed in the target cells, which receptors include the DP, EP, FP, IP and TP receptors for PGD(2), PGE(2), PGF(2)α, PGI(2) and TXA(2), respectively. In addition, there are four subtypes of the EP receptors: EP(1), EP(2), EP(3) and EP(4). Recently, roles of prostanoids in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases have been widely examined using mice lacking each prostanoid receptor individually or enzyme participating in prostanoid biosynthesis. These studies have revealed important and novel roles of prostanoids in the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as acute myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, vascular remodeling, hypertension and cerebral thrombosis. Roles of prostanoids in the generation of inflammatory tachycardia and the regulation of platelet function have also been clarified. In this review, we summarize these roles of prostanoids revealed from knockout mouse studies.
前列腺素（PGs）和血栓素（TXs）由花生四烯酸组成，花生四烯酸是细胞膜中含有的代表性脂肪酸，通过磷脂酶 A(2)、环氧化酶和各自的前列腺素合酶的顺序作用产生。前列腺素在生物合成后立即被释放到细胞外，并在体内发挥广泛的作用。这些作用是由其在靶细胞中表达的各自 G 蛋白偶联受体介导的，这些受体包括分别用于 PGD(2)、PGE(2)、PGF(2)α、PGI(2)和 TXA(2)的 DP、EP、FP、IP 和 TP 受体。此外，还有四种亚型的 EP 受体：EP(1)、EP(2)、EP(3)和 EP(4)。最近，使用缺乏每个前列腺素受体或参与前列腺素生物合成的酶的小鼠，广泛研究了前列腺素在心血管疾病发病机制中的作用。这些研究揭示了前列腺素在心血管疾病发展中的重要和新的作用，如急性心肌梗死、心肌肥厚、动脉粥样硬化、血管重塑、高血压和脑血栓形成。前列腺素在炎症性心动过速的产生和血小板功能的调节中的作用也得到了阐明。在这篇综述中，我们总结了从基因敲除小鼠研究中揭示的前列腺素的这些作用。
