Because COX-2 response to LPS is proinflammatory, an inherited reduced response would predispose to chronic inflammatory diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
Aberrant prostaglandin synthase 2 (PGS2/COX2) expression constitutes an antigen presenting cell (APC) dysfunction seen in monocytes of humans at risk for or with Type 1 diabetes.
We examined monocyte prostaglandin synthase 2 (PGS2/COX2) expression in individuals at risk for or with type 1 diabetes including: (i) 58 established type 1 and 2 diabetic patients; (ii) 34 autoantibody positive (AA+) children and adults; (iii) 164 infants and young children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) susceptibility human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles; and (iv) 37 healthy control individuals, over a 5-yr period.
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.