PGI synthase overexpression protects against bleomycin-induced mortality and is associated with increased Nqo 1 expression.

The mortality rate for acute lung injury (ALI) is reported to be between 35-40%, and there are very few treatment strategies that improve the death rate from this condition. Previous studies have suggested that signaling through the prostaglandin (PG) I(2) receptor may protect against bleomycin-induced ALI in mice. We found that mice that overexpress PGI synthase (PGIS) in the airway epithelium were significantly protected against bleomycin-induced mortality and had reduced parenchymal consolidation, apoptosis of lung tissue, and generation of F(2)-isoprostanes compared with littermate wild-type controls. In addition, we show for the first time in both in vivo and in vitro experiments that PGI(2) induced the expression of NADP (H): quinoneoxidoreductase 1 (Nqo 1), an enzyme that prevents the generation of reactive oxygen species. PGI(2) induction of Nqo 1 provides a possible novel mechanism by which this prostanoid protects against bleomycin-induced mortality and identifies a potential therapeutic target for human ALI.