Cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived prostanoids play an important role in the cerebrovascular control of newborns. In humans and in the widely accepted model of piglets, both the COX-1 and the COX-2 isoforms are expressed in cerebral arteries. However, the involvement of these isoforms in cerebrovascular control is unknown. Therefore we tested if specific inhibitors of COX-1 and/or COX-2 would differentially affect pial arteriolar responses to COX-dependent stimuli in piglets. Anesthetized, ventilated piglets (n ϭ 35) were equipped with a closed cranial window, and changes in pial arteriolar diameters (baseline 001ف m) to hypercapnia (ventilation with 5-10% CO 2 , 21% O 2 , balance N 2 ), arterial hypotension (40 mm Hg MABP achieved by blood withdrawal), and Ach (Ach, 10 -100 M) were determined via intravital microscopy. Arteriolar responses were repeatedly tested 15 min after IV administration of selective COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors SC-560 and NS-398 (1-1 mg/kg), and nonselective inhibitors indomethacin (0.3-1 mg/kg), acetaminophen (30 mg/kg), and ibuprofen (30 mg/kg). Hypercapnia resulted in concentration-dependent, reversible, 02ف( -40%) increases in pial arteriolar diameters that were unaffected by NS-398, SC-560, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. In contrast, 0.3 mg/kg indomethacin significantly reduced, 1 mg/kg virtually abolished the vasodilation. Arterial hypotension elicited )%02-51ف( vasodilation that was similarly reduced by NS-398 and indomethacin but was unaltered by SC-560. Ach dose-dependently constricted pial arterioles. This response was similarly attenuated by NS-398, indomethacin, and ibuprofen, but left intact by SC-560. We conclude that the assessed COX-dependent vascular reactions appear to depend largely on COX-2 activity. However, hypercapnia-induced vasodilation was found indomethacin-sensitive instead of a COX-dependent response in the piglet. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme of prostanoid biosynthesis and ubiquitously found in most cells including microvascular endothelium and vascular smooth muscle (VSM). COX has two major isoforms coded by different genes (COX-1 and COX-2) that can now be targeted with selective inhibitors. More molecular variants exist as suggested by the recent description of a splice-variant of COX-1, putatively named COX-3 (1). In the piglet cerebral arteries, both COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA-s are expressed with COX-2 being the dominant constitutive isoform (2).COX-activity plays opposing roles in the cerebral circulation under physiologic and pathologic conditions. In normoxia, COX-derived metabolites play an important role in the control of VSM in many cerebrovascular regulatory pathways (3). In contrast, uncontrolled COX-activity under hypoxic/ischemic stress may be an ample source of superoxide anions and proinflammatory prostanoids involved in cellular injury and cell death (4,5). In fact, COX-inhibitors have pronounced neuroprotective effects in many neonatal and adult experimental models of hypoxia and stroke. In the piglet, the direct protective effec...