Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-2650, USA.
Mediators Inflamm. 2012;2012:926968. doi: 10.1155/2012/926968. Epub 2012 Jul 18.
Prostacyclin, or PGI(2), is an end product derived from the sequential metabolism of arachidonic acid via cyclooxygenase and PGI synthase (PGIS). The receptor for PGI(2), IP, can be found on a variety of cell types and signaling through this receptor exhibits broad physiological effects. Historically, PGI(2) has been understood to play a role in cardiovascular health, specifically having powerful vasodilatory effects via relaxation of smooth muscle and inhibiting of platelet aggregation. For these reasons, PGI(2) has a long history of use for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Only recently, its importance as an immunomodulatory agent has been investigated. PGI(2) regulates both the innate and adaptive immune systems and its effects are, for the most part, thought to be anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive in nature, which may have implications for its further clinical use.
前列环素，或 PGI（2），是一种终产物，来源于花生四烯酸通过环加氧酶和 PGI 合酶（PGIS）的顺序代谢。PGI（2）的受体 IP 存在于多种细胞类型上，通过该受体的信号转导表现出广泛的生理效应。从历史上看，PGI（2）被认为在心血管健康中发挥作用，特别是通过平滑肌松弛和抑制血小板聚集发挥强大的血管舒张作用。出于这些原因，PGI（2）在肺动脉高压（PAH）的治疗中有很长的应用历史。直到最近，人们才开始研究它作为免疫调节剂的重要性。PGI（2）调节先天和适应性免疫系统，其作用在大多数情况下被认为具有抗炎或免疫抑制特性，这可能对其进一步的临床应用具有重要意义。
