Because COX-2 response to LPS is proinflammatory, an inherited reduced response would predispose to chronic inflammatory diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
In this report, we demonstrate aberrant constitutive expression of the normally inducible cyclooxygenase PG synthase 2 (PGS(2)/ COX-2) in nonactivated monocytes of humans with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and those with islet autoantibodies at increased risk of developing this disease.