Lack of prostacyclin biosynthesis by aortic tissue of the chicken.

The capacity of chicken aorta to produce prostaglandins both from exogenous and endogenous arachidonic acid has been evaluated. The metabolism of arachidonic acid in this tissue is mainly directed to PGE2 and, in contrast to mammalian species, virtually no prostacyclin synthetase is present. However, the capacity of chicken thrombocytes to generate thromboxane A2 and 12-L-hydroxy-5, 8, 10, 14-eicosatetraenoic acid is similar to that observed for the mammalian blood platelets.