Prostanoids are a group of bioactive lipids working as local mediators and include D, E, F and I types of prostaglandins (PGs) and thromboxanes. Prostacyclin (PGI2) acts on platelets and blood vessels to inhibit platelet aggregation and to cause vasodilatation, and is thought to be important for vascular homeostasis. Aspirin-like drugs, including indomethacin, which inhibit prostanoid biosynthesis, suppress fever, inflammatory swelling and pain, and interfere with female reproduction, suggesting that prostanoids are involved in these processes, although it is not clear which prostanoid is the endogenous mediator of a particular process. Prostanoids act on seven-transmembrane-domain receptors which are selective for each type. Here we disrupt the gene for the prostacyclin receptor in mice by using homologous recombination. The receptor-deficient mice are viable, reproductive and normotensive. However, their susceptibility to thrombosis is increased, and their inflammatory and pain responses are reduced to the levels observed in indomethacin-treated wild-type mice. Our results establish that prostacyclin is an antithrombotic agent in vivo and provide evidence for its role as a mediator of inflammation and pain.

Mice lacking the gene encoding the receptor for prostaglandin F2alpha (FP) developed normally but were unable to deliver normal fetuses at term. Although these FP-deficient mice showed no abnormality in the estrous cycle, ovulation, fertilization, or implantation, they did not respond to exogenous oxytocin because of the lack of induction of oxytocin receptor (a proposed triggering event in parturition), and they did not show the normal decline of serum progesterone concentrations that precedes parturition. Ovariectomy at day 19 of pregnancy restored induction of the oxytocin receptor and permitted successful delivery in the FP-deficient mice. These results indicate that parturition is initiated when prostaglandin F2alpha interacts with FP in ovarian luteal cells of the pregnant mice to induce luteolysis.

In the series of 3d (t 2g ) 1 perovskites, SrVO 3 -CaVO 3 -LaTiO 3 -YTiO 3 ,

A versatile method for combining density functional theory in the local density approximation with dynamical mean-field theory ͑DMFT͒ is presented. Starting from a general basis-independent formulation, we use Wannier functions as an interface between the two theories. These functions are used for the physical purpose of identifying the correlated orbitals in a specific material, and also for the more technical purpose of interfacing DMFT with different kinds of band-structure methods ͑with three different techniques being used in the present work͒. We explore and compare two distinct Wannier schemes, namely the maximally localized Wannier function and the Nth order muffin-tin-orbital methods. Two correlated materials with different degrees of structural and electronic complexity, SrVO 3 and BaVS 3 , are investigated as case studies. SrVO 3 belongs to the canonical class of correlated transition-metal oxides, and is chosen here as a test case in view of its simple structure and physical properties. In contrast, the sulfide BaVS 3 is known for its rich and complex physics, associated with strong correlation effects and low-dimensional characteristics. Insights into the physics associated with the metal-insulator transition of this compound are provided, particularly regarding correlationinduced modifications of its Fermi surface. Additionally, the necessary formalism for implementing selfconsistency over the electronic charge density in a Wannier basis is discussed.

Purpose: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is commonly overexpressed in lung cancer.Cetuximab is a chimeric mouse-human antibody targeted against EGFR. Compared with its inhibitory properties, its immunologic mechanisms have not been well studied. In this study, we investigated the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity of cetuximab against lung cancer cell lines. Experimental Design: We studied the correlation between EGFR expression in lung cancer cell lines and the ADCC activity of cetuximab as well as the influence of interleukin-2 and chemotherapy on the ADCC activity. EGFR expression was measured by a quantitative flow cytometric analysis and immunohistochemistry. The ADCC activity was assessed by a 4-h 51 Cr release assay. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, purified Tcells, natural killer (NK) cells, and monocytes from healthy donors or lung cancer patients were used as effector cells. Results: Fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibited cetuximab-mediated ADCC activity against lung cancer cell lines at a low concentration of cetuximab (0.25 Ag/mL). A logarithmic correlation was observed between the number of EGFRs and ADCC activity. Even low EGFR expression, which was weakly detectable by immunohistochemistry, was sufficient for maximum ADCC activity, and further increases in EGFR expression on the target cells had no further effect on the ADCC activity. In addition, ADCC activity was enhanced by interleukin-2 mainly through activation of NK cells and was less susceptible to immunosuppression by chemotherapy than NK activity in lung cancer patients. Conclusions: These observations suggest the importance of ADCC activity as an immunologic mechanism of cetuximab in biological therapy for lung cancer patients.