Celecoxib inhibits phorbol ester-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and skin-tumor promotion in mouse skin: p38 and AP-1 as possible molecular targets

Celecoxib, the selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, has recently been reported to reduce the formation of polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. This specific COX-2 inhibitor also protects against experimentally induced carcinogenesis, but molecular mechanisms underlying its chemopreventive activities remain largely unresolved. In the present work, we found that celecoxib inhibited 12-O- tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced expression of COX-2 in female ICR mouse skin when applied topically 30 min prior to TPA as determined by both immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses. (omitted)