Figure 6.

COX-2 expression is higher in neutrophils from male versus female donors; effects of 5-LO pathway inhibition on PGE₂ production. (A–C) Western blot analysis of total cell lysates of neutrophils from male and female donors. (A) COX-1 and -2 protein expression. Densitometric analysis of (B) COX-1 and (C) COX-2 protein normalized to β-actin expression. Western blots are representatives of 11 independent experiments. Values represents means ± S.E.M of densitometric analyses of COX-1/-2 protein bands, normalized to β-actin. ^#p < 0.05, male vs female cells. (D) PGE₂ production in human neutrophils from male and female donors after pre-treatment with MK886 (30 nM, 15 min) upon A23187 stimulation (0.5 µM, 4 hrs). Values represents means ± S.E.M of n = 5 experiments, each in duplicate. ^#p < 0.05, male vs female; ^°°p < 0.01, female cells with MK886 vs female control cells; two-tailed Student’s t test.