PGE2 Deficiency Uncovers Role for TXA2

Prostaglandin E₂ deficiency uncovers a dominant role for thromboxane A₂ in house dust mite-induced allergic pulmonary inflammation.

In this study, published in the July 2012 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Liu and colleagues showed that in mice that lacked the ability to make prostaglandin E₂ (which is a deficiency that some have suggested is similar in patients with Samter’s Triad/AERD), the lung inflammation that developed was dependent on the presence of another chemical called thromboxane A₂ (TXA₂). As TXA₂ is predominantly made by platelets, this research suggests that anti-thromboxane or anti-platelets medications could be helpful in decreasing lung inflammation.