Ciclooxigenasa 3: the new iso-enzime

In 2002, Simmons etal from the Brigham Young University identifi ed a new form ofcyclooxygenase, which was called cyclooxygenase-3. This,basically, derives from the cyclooxygenase-1 gene codifi erbut it differs structurally and functionally from COX-1. It hasbeen established that PGs COX-3 produces fever and centralpain but not infl ammation. When pharmacological inhibitionfrom several drugs were tested, acetaminophen was identified as the most selective inhibitor. Following this discovery,af ter 60 years fi nally the pharmacological mechanism for the acetaminophen was clarifi ed.