Localization and Distribution of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Brain Tissue by Immunohistochemistry

Prostaglandin production is dependent on the presence of an enzyme called prostaglandin G/H synthase, better known as cyclooxygenase, that catalyzes the first steps in the conversion from arachidonic acid. A cDNA for cyclooxygenase was first cloned from sheep seminal vesicles in 1988 (1 ,2 ). In 1991, we and others reported the cloning of a second isoform of cyclooxygenase, now known as COX-2, that is rapidly induced in response to growth factors and proinflammatory cytokines and downregulated by glucocorticoid hormones (3 –6 ).