highly acidified digestive products released from the stomach and thereby prevents ulcerative damage to the small intestine. Activation of EP3 and EP4 receptors in mice stimulates this secretion but in humans activation of EP4, not EP3, appears responsible for this secretion. These two prostanoid receptors also stimulate intestinal mucous secretion, a function which may also act to reduce acidic damage to the duodenum. Fever EP3-deficient mice as well as mice selectively deleted of EP3 expression in the brain's median preoptic nucleus fail to develop fever in response to endotoxins (i.e. bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharide) or the host-derived regulator of body temperature, IL-1β. The ability of endotoxins and IL-1β but not that of PGE2 to trigger fever is blocked by inhibitors of nitric oxide and PG2. EP3-deficient mice exhibit normal febrile responses to stress, interleukin-8, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta (MIP-1β). It is suggested that these findings indicate that a) activation of the EP3 receptor suppresses the inhibitory tone that the preoptic hypothalamus has on thermogenic effector cells in the brain; b) endotoxin and IL-1β simulate the production of nitric oxide which in turn causes the production of PGE2 and thereby the EP3-dependent fever-producing; c) other factors such as stress, interleukin 8, and MIP-1β trigger fever independently of EP3; and d) inhibition of the PGE2-EP3 pathway underlies the ability of aspirin and other Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce fever caused by inflammation in animals and, possibly, humans. Allergy In a mouse model of ovalbumin-induced asthma, a selective EP3 agonist reduced airway cellularity, mucus, and bronchoconstriction responses to methacholine. In this model, EP3-deficient mice, upon ovalbumin challenge, exhibited worsened allergic inflammation as measured by increased airway eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and pro-allergic cytokines (i.e. interleukin 4, interleukin 5, and interleukin 13) as compared to wild type mice. EP3 receptor-deficient mice and/or wild type mice treated with an EP3 receptor agonist are similarly protected from allergic responses in models of allergic conjunctivitis and contact hypersensitivity. Thus, EP3 appears to serve an important role in reducing allergic reactivity at least in mice. Cough Studies with mice, guinea pig, and human tissues and in guinea pigs indicate that PGE2 operates through EP3 to trigger cough responses. Its mechanism of action involves activation and/or sensitization of TRPV1 (as well as TRPA1) receptors, presumably by an indirect mechanism. Genetic polymorphism in the EP3 receptor (rs11209716), has been associated with ACE inhibitor-induce cough in humans. The use of EP3 receptor antagonists may