6-ketoprostaglandin-f1-alpha and Stroke

Heavy binge drinking may trigger the onset of embolic stroke and acute myocardial infarction, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The effects of binge drinking on the hemostatic system and its circadian variation have not been investigated. We investigated the effects of an acute intake of a large dose of alcohol (1.5 g/kg).. Twelve healthy, nonsmoking men participated in sessions where they were served ethanol in fruit juice or served fruit juice alone and, lying in a supine position, were followed up for 12 to 24 hours. The treatments were randomized and separated from each other by a 1-week washout period. Blood and urine were collected for hemostatic measurements.. The urinary excretion of the platelet thromboxane A(2) metabolite 2, 3-dinor-thromboxane B(2) was significantly (P<0.05) greater during the night after an evening intake of alcohol than during the control night. A smaller increase was observed during the daytime after an intake of alcohol in the morning. The effects on the endothelial prostacyclin metabolite 2,3-dinor-6-ketoprostaglandin F(1alpha) excretion were negligible. A 7-fold increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity was observed after both morning (P<0. 05) and evening (P<0.01) intakes of alcohol.. This is the first study to suggest that acute ingestion of a relatively large but tolerable dose of alcohol transiently enhances thromboxane-mediated platelet activation. The observations also demonstrate alcohol-induced changes in the normal circadian periodicity of the hemostatic system in subjects not accustomed to consumption of alcohol.

Topics: 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha; Acute Disease; Adult; Alcoholic Intoxication; Biomarkers; Circadian Rhythm; Creatinine; Cross-Over Studies; Disease Susceptibility; Drug Administration Schedule; Ethanol; Fibrinolysis; Hemorheology; Hemostasis; Humans; Male; Myocardial Infarction; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; Platelet Activation; Platelet Aggregation; Stroke; Supine Position; Thromboxane B2

Elucidating action mechanisms of Chinese medicines has remained a challenging task due to the chemical and biological complexity that needs to be resolved. In this study we applied a gene expression data and connectivity map (CMAP) based approach to study action mechanisms of a Chinese medicine Xuesaitong injection (XST) on preventing cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. XST is a standardized patent Chinese medicine of Panax notoginseng roots and it has long been used for the effective prevention and treatment of stroke in China. However, more research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying its effects against ischemic stroke. We first evaluated the effect of XST against ischemic stroke in an ischemia-reperfusion rat animal model and dissected its mechanisms based on gene expression data of injured brain. The results showed that treatment with XST significantly attenuated infarct area and histological damage. Based upon pathway analysis and the CMAP query of microarray data, anti-inflammatory response and anti-platelet coagulation were found as the major mechanisms of XST against stroke, which were further validated in vitro and with pharmacological assays of serum. We demonstrated the feasibility of applying the combination of the microarray with the CMAP in identifying mechanisms of Chinese medicine.

Topics: 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Brain; Cerebral Infarction; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Gene Expression Profiling; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery; Macrophages; Male; Mice; Nerve Net; Nitric Oxide; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Platelet Aggregation; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; RAW 264.7 Cells; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reproducibility of Results; Saponins; Stroke; Thromboxane B2

A genetic variant (rs20417) of the PTGS2 gene, encoding for COX-2, has been associated with decreased COX-2 activity and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, this genetic association and the role of COX-2 in CVD remain controversial.. The association of rs20417 with CVD was prospectively explored in 49 232 subjects (ACTIVE-A, CURE, epiDREAM/DREAM, ONTARGET, RE-LY, and WGHS) and the effect of potentially modifiable risk factors on the genetic association was further explored in 9363 INTERHEART participants. The effect of rs20417 on urinary thromboxane and prostacyclin metabolite concentrations was measured in 117 healthy individuals. Carriage of the rs20417 minor allele was associated with a decreased risk of major CVD outcomes (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.70-0.87; P = 1.2 × 10(-5)). The genetic effect was significantly stronger in aspirin users (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.84; P = 1.20 × 10(-5)) than non-users (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.72-1.06; P = 0.16) (interaction P-value: 0.0041). Among patients with previous coronary artery disease (CAD), rs20417 carriers had a stronger protective effect on risk of major adverse events when compared with individuals without previous CAD (interaction P-value: 0.015). Carriers had significantly lower urinary levels of thromboxane (P = 0.01) and prostacyclin (P = 0.01) metabolites when compared with non-carriers.. The rs20417 polymorphism is associated with a reduced risk of major cardiovascular events and lower levels of thromboxane and prostacyclin. Our results suggest that a genetic decrease in COX-2 activity may be beneficial with respect to CVD risk, especially, in higher risk patients on aspirin.

Topics: 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha; Aged; Aspirin; Cyclooxygenase 2; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; Female; Heterozygote; Humans; Male; Multicenter Studies as Topic; Myocardial Infarction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Prospective Studies; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Stroke; Thromboxane B2

Endothelial function is impaired in hypertensive patients. Decreased nitric oxide and prostacyclin production as well as increased oxidative stress are involved in this abnormality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress have diagnostic value in patients with essential hypertension. We measured nitric oxide, prostacyclin, and oxidized-LDL levels and assessed oxidative status in 62 patients with diagnosed essential arterial hypertension and 45 healthy controls. In the hypertensive group, among measured parameters, the median prostacyclin level was significantly lower, when compared to healthy controls (125.57 pg/mL, 25%; 75% quartile range: 84.99; 275.93 and 462.9 pg/mL, 25%; 75% quartile range: 107.69; 849.3, respectively, P = 0.009). The largest area under the ROC curve was found for prostacyclin; 0.647 (95% C.I. 0.549 to 0.737). In the analysis of logistic regression, the prostacyclin and oxidized-LDL cut-off values were associated with a 4.9 higher significant risk of hypertension (O.R. 4.91 and 4.99, respectively; P = 0.0008 and P = 0.00065, respectively). Oxidized-LDL, a biomarker of endothelial damage, was the only one that had a significant negative correlation with protective prostacyclin in hypertensive patients (r = -0.29, P = 0.02). Of all the biomarkers prostacyclin and oxidized-LDL had the best diagnostic value for patients with hypertension.

Topics: 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha; Adult; Atherosclerosis; Biomarkers; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; Coronary Artery Disease; Endothelium, Vascular; Epoprostenol; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Lipoproteins, LDL; Male; Middle Aged; Nitric Oxide; Oxidative Stress; Peroxides; Prognosis; Reference Values; Risk Factors; Stroke