Aspirin and ibuprofen relieve inflammatory pain by blocking the production of which mediator?
AHistamine
BLeukotriene
CInterferon
DProstaglandin
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Prostaglandin
1. Injured cells, phagocytes and basophils release prostaglandins and leukotrienes into inflamed tissue.
2. Prostaglandins cause vasodilation by relaxing vascular smooth muscle and are a major cause of the pain associated with inflammation.
3. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen relieve that pain by inhibiting prostaglandin production.
4. Leukotrienes mainly attract neutrophils from the blood by chemotaxis, and interferon is an antiviral protein, so neither is the drug target here.
_Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "The Lymphatic and Immune System", section 21.2 Barrier Defenses and the Innate Immune Response_
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