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Carotenoids are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, canaries, flamingos, salmon, lobster, shrimp, and daffodils. Over 1,100 identified carotenoids can be further categorized into two classes – xanthophylls and carotenes.
Juvenile hormones (JHs) are a group of acyclic sesquiterpenoids that regulate many aspects of insect physiology. The first discovery of a JH was by Vincent Wigglesworth. JHs regulate development, reproduction, diapause, and polyphenisms. The chemical formula for juvenile hormone is .
Ergoline is a chemical compound whose structural skeleton is contained in a variety of alkaloids, referred to as ergoline derivatives or ergoline alkaloids. Ergoline alkaloids, one being ergine, were initially characterized in ergot. Some of these are implicated in the condition ergotism, which can take a convulsive form or a gangrenous form. Even so, many ergoline alkaloids have been found to be clinically useful. Annual world production of ergot alkaloids has been estimated at 5,000–8,000 kg of all ergopeptines and 10,000–15,000 kg of lysergic acid, used primarily in the manufacture of semi-synthetic derivatives.
HMG-CoA reductase is the rate-controlling enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, the metabolic pathway that produces cholesterol and other isoprenoids. HMGCR catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid, a necessary step in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Normally in mammalian cells this enzyme is competitively suppressed so that its effect is controlled. This enzyme is the target of the widely available cholesterol-lowering drugs known collectively as the statins, which help treat dyslipidemia.
Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula HOOC(CH
2)
7CH=CHCH
2CH=CH(CH
2)
4CH
3. Both alkene groups are cis. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 cis-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid.
HU-210 is a synthetic cannabinoid that was first synthesized in 1988 from (1R,5S)-myrtenol by a group led by Raphael Mechoulam at the Hebrew University. HU-210 is 100 to 800 times more potent than natural THC from cannabis and has an extended duration of action. HU-210 has a binding affinity of 0.061nM at CB1 and 0.52nM at CB2 in cloned human cannabinoid receptors compared to Delta-9-THC of 40.7nM at CB1. HU-210 is the (–)-1,1-dimethylheptyl analog of 11-hydroxy- Δ8- tetrahydrocannabinol; in some references it is called 1,1-dimethylheptyl- 11-hydroxytetrahydrocannabinol. The abbreviation "HU" stands for Hebrew University.
Eicosapentaenoic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid. In physiological literature, it is given the name 20:5(n-3). It also has the trivial name timnodonic acid. In chemical structure, EPA is a carboxylic acid with a 20-carbon chain and five cis double bonds; the first double bond is located at the third carbon from the omega end.
A fatty acid desaturase is an enzyme that removes two hydrogen atoms from a fatty acid, creating a carbon/carbon double bond. These desaturases are classified as:
The Gabriel–Colman rearrangement is the chemical reaction of a saccharin or phthalimido ester with a strong base, such as an alkoxide, to form substituted isoquinolines. First described in 1900 by chemists Siegmund Gabriel and James Colman, this rearrangement, a ring expansion, is seen to be general if there is an enolizable hydrogen on the group attached to the nitrogen, since it is necessary for the nitrogen to abstract a hydrogen to form the carbanion that will close the ring. As shown in the case of the general example below, X is either CO or SO2.
Hepoxilins (Hx) are a set of epoxyalcohol metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), i.e. they possess both an epoxide and an alcohol residue. HxA3, HxB3, and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassic eicosanoid derived from acid the (PUFA), arachidonic acid. A second group of less well studied hepoxilins, HxA4, HxB4, and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassical eicosanoids derived from the PUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid. Recently, 14,15-HxA3 and 14,15-HxB3 have been defined as arachidonic acid derivatives that are produced by a different metabolic pathway than HxA3, HxB3, HxA4, or HxB4 and differ from the aforementioned hepoxilins in the positions of their hydroxyl and epoxide residues. Finally, hepoxilin-like products of two other PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid and linoleic acid, have been described. All of these epoxyalcohol metabolites are at least somewhat unstable and are readily enzymatically or non-enzymatically to their corresponding trihydroxy counterparts, the trioxilins (TrX). HxA3 and HxB3, in particular, are being rapidly metabolized to TrXA3, TrXB3, and TrXC3. Hepoxilins have various biological activities in animal models and/or cultured mammalian tissues and cells. The TrX metabolites of HxA3 and HxB3 have less or no activity in most of the systems studied but in some systems retain the activity of their precursor hepoxilins. Based on these studies, it has been proposed that the hepoxilins and trioxilins function in human physiology and pathology by, for example, promoting inflammation responses and dilating arteries to regulate regional blood flow and blood pressure.
Gamma-butyrobetaine dioxygenase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the BBOX1 gene. Gamma-butyrobetaine dioxygenase catalyses the formation of L-carnitine from gamma-butyrobetaine, the last step in the L-carnitine biosynthesis pathway. Carnitine is essential for the transport of activated fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane during mitochondrial beta oxidation. In humans, gamma-butyrobetaine dioxygenase can be found in the kidney (high), liver (moderate), and brain. BBOX1 has recently been identified as a potential cancer gene based on a large-scale microarray data analysis.
Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Δ-9-desaturase) is an endoplasmic reticulum enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the formation of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), specifically oleate and palmitoleate from stearoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA. Oleate and palmitoleate are major components of membrane phospholipids, cholesterol esters and alkyl-diacylglycerol. In humans, the enzyme is encoded by the SCD gene.
J-113,397 is an opioid drug which was the first compound found to be a highly selective antagonist for the nociceptin receptor, also known as the ORL-1 receptor. It is several hundred times selective for the ORL-1 receptor over other opioid receptors, and its effects in animals include preventing the development of tolerance to morphine, the prevention of hyperalgesia induced by intracerebroventricular administration of nociceptin, as well as the stimulation of dopamine release in the striatum, which increases the rewarding effects of cocaine, but may have clinical application in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
The angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), also called angiotensin (AT1) receptor antagonists or sartans, are a group of antihypertensive drugs that act by blocking the effects of the hormone angiotensin II in the body, thereby lowering blood pressure. Their structure is similar to Ang II and they bind to Ang II receptors as inhibitors, e.g., [T24 from Rhys Healthcare].
12-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) is a derivative of the 20 carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid, arachidonic acid, containing a hydroxyl residue at carbon 12 and a 5Z,8Z,10E,14Z Cis–trans isomerism configuration (Z=cis, E=trans) in its four double bonds. It was first found as a product of arachidonic acid metabolism made by human and bovine platelets through their 12S-lipoxygenase (i.e. ALOX12) enzyme(s). However, the term 12-HETE is ambiguous in that it has been used to indicate not only the initially detected "S" stereoisomer, 12S-hydroxy-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-eicosatetraenoic acid (12(S)-HETE or 12S-HETE), made by platelets, but also the later detected "R" stereoisomer, 12(R)-hydroxy-5Z,8Z,10E,14Z-eicosatetraenoic acid (also termed 12(R)-HETE or 12R-HETE) made by other tissues through their 12R-lipoxygenase enzyme, ALOX12B. The two isomers, either directly or after being further metabolized, have been suggested to be involved in a variety of human physiological and pathological reactions. Unlike hormones which are secreted by cells, travel in the circulation to alter the behavior of distant cells, and thereby act as Endocrine signalling agents, these arachidonic acid metabolites act locally as Autocrine signalling and/or Paracrine signaling agents to regulate the behavior of their cells of origin or of nearby cells, respectively. In these roles, they may amplify or dampen, expand or contract cellular and tissue responses to disturbances.
Decenoic acid is any mono-carboxylic acid with an unbranched chain of ten carbons connected by eight single bonds and one double bond; that is, a chemical compound with formula HO(O=)C–(CH
2)
k–CH=CH–(CH
2)
7-k–H, where k is between 0 and 7 inclusive.
15-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (also termed 15-HETE, 15(S)-HETE, and 15S-HETE) is an eicosanoid, i.e. a metabolite of arachidonic acid. Various cell types metabolize arachidonic acid to 15(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15(S)-HpETE). This initial hydroperoxide product is extremely short-lived in cells: if not otherwise metabolized, it is rapidly reduced to 15(S)-HETE. Both of these metabolites, depending on the cell type which forms them, can be further metabolized to 15-oxo-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-oxo-ETE), 5S,15S-dihydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (5(S),15(S)-diHETE), 5-oxo-15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-oxo-15(S)-HETE, a subset of specialized pro-resolving mediators viz., the lipoxins, a class of pro-inflammatory mediators, the eoxins, and other products that have less well-defined activities and functions. Thus, 15(S)-HETE and 15(S)-HpETE, in addition to having intrinsic biological activities, are key precursors to numerous biologically active derivatives.
12-Hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid (also termed 12-HHT, 12(S)-hydroxyheptadeca-5Z,8E,10E-trienoic acid, or 12(S)-HHTrE) is a 17 carbon metabolite of the 20 carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid, arachidonic acid. It was first detected and structurally defined by P. Wlodawer, Bengt I. Samuelsson, and M. Hamberg as a product of arachidonic acid metabolism made by microsomes (i.e. endoplasmic reticulum) isolated from sheep seminal vesicle glands and by intact human platelets. 12-HHT is less ambiguously termed 12-(S)-hydroxy-5Z,8E,10E-heptadecatrienoic acid to indicate the S stereoisomerism of its 12-hydroxyl residue and the Z, E, and E cis-trans isomerism of its three double bonds. The metabolite was for many years thought to be merely a biologically inactive byproduct of prostaglandin synthesis. More recent studies, however, have attached potentially important activity to it.
20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, also known as 20-HETE or 20-hydroxy-5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z-eicosatetraenoic acid, is an eicosanoid metabolite of arachidonic acid that has a wide range of effects on the vascular system including the regulation of vascular tone, blood flow to specific organs, sodium and fluid transport in the kidney, and vascular pathway remodeling. These vascular and kidney effects of 20-HETE have been shown to be responsible for regulating blood pressure and blood flow to specific organs in rodents; genetic and preclinical studies suggest that 20-HETE may similarly regulate blood pressure and contribute to the development of stroke and heart attacks. Additionally the loss of its production appears to be one cause of the human neurological disease, Hereditary spastic paraplegia. Preclinical studies also suggest that the overproduction of 20-HETE may contribute to the progression of certain human cancers, particularly those of the breast.
Specialized pro-resolving mediators are a large and growing class of cell signaling molecules formed in cells by the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by one or a combination of lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase enzymes. Pre-clinical studies, primarily in animal models and human tissues, implicate SPM in orchestrating the resolution of inflammation. Prominent members include the resolvins and protectins.
References
- ↑ Rahmaniyan M, Curley RW, Obeid LM, Hannun YA, Kraveka JM (July 2011). "Identification of dihydroceramide desaturase as a direct in vitro target for fenretinide". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 286 (28): 24754–64. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.250779 . PMC 3137051 . PMID 21543327.
- ↑ Triola G, Fabrias G, Dragusin M, Niederhausen L, Broere R, Llebaria A, van Echten-Deckert G (December 2004). "Specificity of the dihydroceramide desaturase inhibitor N-[(1R,2S)-2-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-2-(2-tridecyl-1-cyclopropenyl)ethyl]octanamide (GT11) in primary cultured cerebellar neurons". Molecular Pharmacology. 66 (6): 1671–8. doi:10.1124/mol.104.003681. PMID 15371559. S2CID 5624629.