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Published on: June 25, 2012
Cholera and pertussis toxins amplify prostacyclin synthesis in aortic smooth muscle cells
1Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, School of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
Abstract:
Pretreatment of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells in culture with pertussis toxin (PT) or cholera toxin (CT) potentiated the synthesis of prostacyclin (PGI2) induced by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and phorbol-12-myristate, 13-acetate (PMA). The production of PGI2 by explants from the bovine aortic media was also synergistically stimulated by 5-HT and CT, whereas PT was inactive. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that guanosine 5'-triphosphate binding proteins are directly involved in the control of phospholipases which release free arachidonic acid for prostaglandin synthesis.
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