One of the upregulated genes detected in the micro-array study of the mechanically distended bowel is prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2 (PTGS-2), also known as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which has shown a 19-fold increase in expression in the distended colon of BO rats, compared to the non-distended colonic segment aboral to obstruction. Here, PTGS2 is linked to bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome.