Low prostaglandin E2 and cyclooxygenase expression in nasal mucosa fibroblasts of aspirin-intolerant asthmatics.

Background and objective: Anomalies in the regulation of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and-2 have been described in nasal polyps of aspirin-induced asthma (AIA). Whether these anomalies are specific to nasal polyps or affect all the nasal mucosa (NM) of upper airways is still unclear. The objective of this study was to compare the COX pathway in NM of AIA patients with the NM of control subjects. Methods: Fibroblasts were isolated from NM of 5 AIA patients (AIA-NM) and 5 control subjects (control-NM). Cells were treated with 10 ng/ml IL-1b for up to 72 hours. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production was measured by ELISA, expression of COX-1 protein by Western blot, and COX-2 protein by ELISA, Western b…