[Regulation of endogenous prostaglandin synthesis in the upper gastrointestinal tract]

Prostaglandins are involved in many physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. the secretion of acid, mucus and bicarbonate, the motility, the microcirculation and cytoprotection. The diverse prostaglandins as well as prostacyclin and thromboxane are synthesized by a complex enzymatic system, which is affected by a multitude of possibly regulatory influences. Such mechanisms are the availability of dietary essential fatty acids, the calcium, dependent activation of the phospholipase A2, the self-inactivation of the prostaglandin cyclooxygenase, the availability of cofactors, the catabolism of the prostanoids and others. A minireview concerning these potentially regulatory mechanisms in the upper gastrointestinal tract is presented.