TY - JOUR T1 - Selective Inhibitors of Cyclooxygenase-2 Delay the Activation of Nuclear Factor κB and Attenuate the Expression of Inflammatory Genes in Murine Macrophages Treated with Lipopolysaccharide JF - Molecular Pharmacology JO - Mol Pharmacol SP - 671 LP - 677 DO - 10.1124/mol.63.3.671 VL - 63 IS - 3 AU - Nuria A. Callejas AU - Amalia Fernández-Martı́nez AU - Antonio Castrillo AU - Lisardo Boscá AU - Paloma Martı́n-Sanz Y1 - 2003/03/01 UR - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/63/3/671.abstract N2 - The effect of rofecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on inflammatory signaling has been investigated in elicited murine peritoneal macrophages. Macrophages treated with 10 μM rofecoxib exhibited an important inhibition in the early activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38, the extracellular-regulated kinase p44, and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Moreover, this drug decreased the protein levels of nitric-oxide synthase-2 and cyclooxygenase-2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophages. Rofecoxib delayed and attenuated NF-κB activation, which impaired significantly the expression of κB-dependent genes. This drug and related coxibs did not affect cell viability and protected against LPS-induced apoptosis through the impairment of the inflammatory response. These data show an additional anti-inflammatory mechanism of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors through the attenuation of macrophage activation. ER -