Obstruction and stretch induce cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression and prostanoid synthesis in urinary tissues, causing pain, inflammation, hypercontractility, and cell proliferation. Our objective was to characterize acute COX-2 induction during in vivo ureteral obstruction, establish a cell culture model of urothelial stretch-induced COX-2 expression, and evaluate whether mechanotransduction could alter transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of COX-2. We performed laparoscopic unilateral ureteral ligation in pigs and allowed progression for 1, 2, 6, 24, or 48 h. We evaluated COX-2 expression with reverse transcriptase (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunoblotting. We cultured primary human urothelial cells on stretch plates, applied stretch for up to 48 h, and measured COX-2 expression by RT-PCR and immunoblotting, transcription with run-on assays, and mRNA stability with actinomycin mRNA decay assays. In vivo ureteral obstruction induced COX-2 expression 4-fold within 6 h, maintaining induction for 24 h. In cell culture, stretch induced COX-2 steady-state mRNA and protein within the first 3 h of stretch, maintaining this induction for over 6 h. Three hours of stretch doubled COX-2 transcription relative to unstretched controls and increased COX-2 mRNA half-life 3-fold. This is the first report to characterize in vivo temporal stretch-induced COX-2 expression in the urothelium and establish a primary urothelial cell culture model for the study of stretch-induced COX-2 mechanisms. This is also the first report to identify alterations in steady-state COX-2 mRNA having components of both transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of stretch-regulated COX-2. Future elucidation of COX-2 signaling may identify novel therapeutic targets for treating stretch and distension of urinary tissues.
The first direct chemical synthesis of radiolabeled 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is reported. Unlike all previous syntheses, the new approach does not rely on enzymatic 1 alpha-hydroxylation of radiolabeled precursors. Rather, isotope is introduced in the last synthetic step by reaction of [3H]-methylmagnesium bromide with methyl 1 alpha-hydroxy-26,27-dinorvitamin D3-25-carboxylate to give 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 with a specific activity of 160 Ci/mmol. Mass spectroscopy confirmed that the radiohormone consists of a single isomer with six tritium atoms bound to carbons 26 and 27. Synthetically produced 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 is indistinguishable from 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 obtained from the enzymatic 1 alpha-hydroxylation of 25-hydroxy[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 (160 Ci/mmol) by high-pressure liquid chromatography analysis and in the competitive binding assay using chick intestinal cytosol as the receptor source. Equilibrium dissociation constant measurements with the high specific activity radiohormone indicate a Kd of 8.2 x 10(-11) M for the chick intestinal cytosol 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor--a value considerably lower than the constants in the range of (1-5) x 10(-9) M previously reported.
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