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In mammals, multiple physiological, metabolic, and behavioral processes are subject to circadian rhythms, adapting to changing light in the environment. Here we analyzed circadian rhythms in the fecal microbiota of mice using deep sequencing, and found that the absolute amount of fecal bacteria and the abundance of Bacteroidetes exhibited circadian rhythmicity, which was more pronounced in female mice. Disruption of the host circadian clock by deletion of Bmal1, a gene encoding a core molecular clock component, abolished rhythmicity in the fecal microbiota composition in both genders. Bmal1 deletion also induced alterations in bacterial abundances in feces, with differential effects based on sex. Thus, although host behavior, such as time of feeding, is of recognized importance, here we show that sex interacts with the host circadian clock, and they collectively shape the circadian rhythmicity and composition of the fecal microbiota in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cardiovascular safety of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be influenced by interactions with antiplatelet doses of aspirin. We sought to quantitate precisely the propensity of commonly consumed NSAIDs-ibuprofen, naproxen, and celecoxib-to cause a drug-drug interaction with aspirin in vivo by measuring the target engagement of aspirin directly by MS. We developed a novel assay of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) acetylation in platelets isolated from volunteers who were administered aspirin and used conventional and microfluidic assays to evaluate platelet function. Although ibuprofen, naproxen, and celecoxib all had the potential to compete with the access of aspirin to the substrate binding channel of COX-1 in vitro, exposure of volunteers to a single therapeutic dose of each NSAID followed by 325 mg aspirin revealed a potent drug-drug interaction between ibuprofen and aspirin and between naproxen and aspirin but not between celecoxib and aspirin. The imprecision of estimates of aspirin consumption and the differential impact on the ability of aspirin to inactivate platelet COX-1 will confound head-to-head comparisons of distinct NSAIDs in ongoing clinical studies designed to measure their cardiovascular risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) in myeloid and vascular cells differentially regulates the response to vascular injury, reflecting distinct effects of mPGES-1-derived PGE2 in these cell types on discrete cellular components of the vasculature. The cell selective roles of mPGES-1 in atherogenesis are unknown. Mice lacking mPGES-1 conditionally in myeloid cells (Mac-mPGES-1-KOs), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC-mPGES-1-KOs), or endothelial cells (EC-mPGES-1-KOs) were crossed into hyperlipidemic low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient animals. En face aortic lesion analysis revealed markedly reduced atherogenesis in MacmPGES-1-KOs, which was concomitant with a reduction in oxidative stress, reflective of reduced macrophage infiltration, less lesional expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and lower aortic expression of NADPH oxidases and proinflammatory cytokines. Reduced oxidative stress was reflected systemically by a decline in urinary 8,12-iso-iPF2a-VI. In contrast to exaggeration of the response to vascular injury, deletion of mPGES-1 in VSMCs, ECs, or both had no detectable phenotypic impact on atherogenesis. Macrophage foam cell formation and cholesterol efflux, together with plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, were unchanged as a function of genotype. In conclusion, myeloid cell mPGES-1 promotes atherogenesis in hyperlipidemic mice, coincident with iNOS-mediated oxidative stress. By contrast, mPGES-1 in vascular cells does not detectably influence atherogenesis in mice. This strengthens the therapeutic rationale for targeting macrophage mPGES-1 in inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2)-derived prostacyclin (PGI2) is sufficient to explain most elements of the cardiovascular hazard from nonsteroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, randomized trials are consistent with the emergence of cardiovascular risk during chronic dosing with NSAIDs. Although deletion of the PGI2 receptor fosters atherogenesis, theimportance of COX-2 during development has constrained the use of conventional knockout (KO) mice to address this question. We developed mice in which COX-2 was deleted postnatally, bypassing cardiorenal defects exhibited by conventional KOs. When crossed into ApoE-deficient hyperlipidemic mice, COX-2 deletion accelerated atherogenesis in both genders, with lesions exhibiting leukocyte infiltration and phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle cells, as reflected by loss of a-smooth muscle cell actin and up-regulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Stimulated peritoneal macrophages revealed suppression of COX-2-derived prostanoids and augmented 5-lipoxygenase product formation, consistent with COX-2 substrate rediversion. Although deletion of the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) did not influence atherogenesis, it attenuated the proather. ogeneic impact of COX-2 deletion in hyperlipidemic mice. Chronic administration of NSAIDs may increasingly confer a cardiovascular hazard on patients at low initial risk. Promotion of atherogenesis by postnatal COX-2 deletion affords a mechanistic explanation for this observation. Coincident inhibition of FLAP may offer an approach to attenuating such a risk from NSAIDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about prostaglandin F2α in cardiovascular homeostasis. Prostaglandin F2α. dose-dependently elevates blood pressure in WT mice via activation of the F prostanoid (FP) receptor. The FP is expressed in preglomerular arterioles, renal collecting ducts, and the hypothalamus. Deletion of the FP reduces blood pressure, coincident with a reduction in plasma renin concentration, angiotensin, and aldosterone, despite a compensatory up-regulation of AT1 receptors and an augmented hypertensive response to infused angiotensin II. Plasma and urinary osmolality are decreased in FP KOs that exhibit mild polyuria and polydipsia. Atherogenesis is retarded by deletion of the FP, despite the absence of detectable receptor expression in aorta or in atherosclerotic lesions in Ldlr KOs; Although vascular TNFβ, inducible nitric oxide enzyme and TGFα, are reduced and lesional macrophages are depleted in the FP/Ldlr double KOs, this result reflects the reduction in lesion burden, as the FP is not expressed on macrophages and its deletion does not alter macrophage cytokine generation. Blockade of the FP offers an approach to the treatment of hypertension and its attendant systemic vascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostaglandin (PG) E2 is formed from PGH2 by a series of PGE synthase (PGES) enzymes. Microsomal PGES-1-/- (mPGES-1-/-) mice were crossed into low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR-/-) mice to generate mPGES-1-/- LDLR-/-s. Urinary 11α-hydroxy-9, 15-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetranor-prostane-1,20-dioic acid (PGE-M) was depressed by mPGES-1 deletion. Vascular mPGES-1 was augmented during atherogenesis in LDLR-/-s. Deletion of mPGES-1 reduced plaque burden in fat-fed LDLR-/-s but did not alter blood pressure, mPGES-1-/- LDLR-/- plaques were enriched with fibrillar collagens relative to LDLR-/-, which also contained small and intermediate-sized collagens. Macrophage foam cells were depleted in mPGES-1-/- LDLR-/- lesions, whereas the total areas rich in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) and matrix were unaltered, mPGES-1 deletion augmented expression of both prostacyclin (PGI2) and thromboxane (Tx) synthases in endothelial cells, and VSMCs expressing PGI synthase were enriched in mPGES-1-/- LDLR-/- lesions. Stimulation of mPGES-1-/- VSMC and macrophages with bacterial LPS increased PGI2 and thromboxane A2 to varied extents. Urinary PGE-M was depressed, whereas urinary 2,3-dinor 6-keto PGF1α, but not 2,3-dinor-TxB2, was increased in mPGES-1-/- LDLR-/-s. mPGES-l-derived PGE2 accelerates atherogenesis in LDLR-/- mice. Disruption of this enzyme retards atherogenesis, without an attendant impact on blood pressure. This may reflect, in part, rediversion of accumulated PGH2 to augment formation of PGI2. Inhibitors of mPGES-1 may be less likely than those selective for cyclooxygenase 2 to result in cardiovascular complications because of a divergent impact on the biosynthesis of PGI2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the findings of a study which suggests that measurement of urinary isoprostane (IPF)2...-I represents a novel approach to the noninvasive assessment of oxidant stress in humans. Materials and methods used; Definition of isoprostanes; Results and discussion.