Widening the Prostacyclin Paradigm: Tissue Fibroblasts Are a Critical Site of Production and Antithrombotic Protection.

These observations define a new paradigm in prostacyclin biology in which fibroblast/nonendothelial-derived prostacyclin works in parallel with endothelium-derived prostanoids to control thrombotic risk and potentially a broad range of other biology. Although generation of prostacyclin by fibroblasts has been shown previously, the scale and systemic activity was not tested and unappreciated. As such, this represents a basic change in our understanding and may provide new insight into how diseases of the lung result in cardiovascular risk.