Prostaglandin E2 is a lipid that is obtained from arachidonic acid. Prostaglandin hormone is synthesized by the activity of cycloxygenase-2. Prostaglandin E2 controls inflammatory responses and vascular smooth muscle activity.

Prostaglandin E2 has been used as a α-MEM medium supplement for the co-culture of bone marrow macrophages and differentiated osteoblast. It has also been used in the characterization of cells and in vitro decidualization.

Most biologically active prostaglandin.

Most biologically active prostaglandin. PGE₂ induces cervical ripening and parturition; mediates bradykinin-induced vasodilation; regulates adenylyl cyclase. Tumor cells that over-express cyclooxygenase 2 display increased invasiveness, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis that may be due to the PGE₂-induced expression of angiogenic factors and stabilization of the anti-apoptotic protein, survivin.The effect of PGE₂ on the immune system is mixed. It inhibits T cell activation in vitro, suggesting it is an immunosuppressant. However, in vivo, it appears to effect expansion of the Th17 subset and differentiation of the Th1 subset of T helper cells, marking it as an immunoactivator.

Prostaglandin E2 is a signaling molecule produced by activated platelets. The release of PGE2 by activated platelets is part of a mechanism by which activated platelets utilize adjacent erythrocytes to help in clot formation. This product was shown to lower the filterability of human erythrocytes by approximately 30% at a concentration of 10-10sup M and also caused a reduction in mean cell volume by about 10%. The cause of cell shrinkage was the induction of a PGE2- stimulated K+ efflux pathway leading to rapid loss of cellular K+ ions. This loss was shown to be Ca2+dependent. PGE2 has been shown to stimulate the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by neonatal mouse parietal bones. After 6 hours in culture, cells stimulated with 10-8sup M PGE2 produced significantly more IL-6 than controls. The pyrogenic activity of PGE2 was not inhibited by dexamethasone, unlike prostaglandin F2α.

Most biologically active prostaglandin. PGE2 induces cervical ripening and parturition; mediates bradykinin-induced vasodilation; regulates adenylyl cyclase. Tumor cells that over-express cyclooxygenase 2 display increased invasiveness, angiogenesis, and resistance to apoptosis that may be due to the PGE2-induced expression of angiogenic factors and stabilization of the anti-apoptotic protein, survivin.

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