Figure 1.

PGE₂ in cell supernatant of human cancer cell lines: Cells were treated either with 0.1% DMSO (control), S-flurbiprofen (0.01–10 µM) or R-flurbiprofen (0.03–50 µM) and, simultaneously, with IL-1β (2 ng/mL) for stimulation of A-549 cells or IL-1β (1 ng/mL) + TNFα (5 ng/mL) for stimulation of HeLa cells. HCA-7 cells were pre-incubated with medium containing either DMSO (0.1%) or flurbiprofen for 1 h and this medium was replaced with fresh medium and the same additions. (A) R-flurbiprofen inhibited PGE₂ production by all three cell lines at concentrations between 1 and 50 µM. Means ± S.E.M. of four independent experiments; (B) R-flurbiprofen also inhibited the release of PGD₂ and PGF_2α from HeLa, A-549 and HCA-7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Means ± S.E.M. of three independent experiments; (C) S-flurbiprofen is 50-fold more potent than R-flurbiprofen in inhibiting PGE₂ production in HeLa cells with an IC₅₀ of about 100 nM. Means ± S.E.M. of three independent experiments. Significant p values are shown as: * p ≤ 0.05.