Eicosanoids are signaling molecules made by the enzymatic or non-enzymatic oxidation of arachidonic acid or other polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are, similar to arachidonic acid, around 20 carbon units in length. Eicosanoids are a sub-category of oxylipins, i.e. oxidized fatty acids of diverse carbon units in length, and are distinguished from other oxylipins by their overwhelming importance as cell signaling molecules. Eicosanoids function in diverse physiological systems and pathological processes such as: mounting or inhibiting inflammation, allergy, fever and other immune responses; regulating the abortion of pregnancy and normal childbirth; contributing to the perception of pain; regulating cell growth; controlling blood pressure; and modulating the regional flow of blood to tissues. In performing these roles, eicosanoids most often act as autocrine signaling agents to impact their cells of origin or as paracrine signaling agents to impact cells in the proximity of their cells of origin. Eicosanoids may also act as endocrine agents to control the function of distant cells.
A lipoxin (LX or Lx), an acronym for lipoxygenase interaction product, is a bioactive autacoid metabolite of arachidonic acid made by various cell types. They are categorized as nonclassic eicosanoids and members of the specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) family of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolites. Like other SPMs, LXs form during, and then act to resolve, inflammatory responses. Initially, two lipoxins were identified, lipoxin A4 (LXA4) and LXB4, but more recent studies have identified epimers of these two LXs: the epi-lipoxins, 15-epi-LXA4 and 15-epi-LXB4 respectively.
Epoxide hydrolases (EHs), also known as epoxide hydratases, are enzymes that metabolize compounds that contain an epoxide residue; they convert this residue to two hydroxyl residues through an epoxide hydrolysis reaction to form diol products. Several enzymes possess EH activity. Microsomal epoxide hydrolase, soluble epoxide hydrolase, and the more recently discovered but not as yet well defined functionally, epoxide hydrolase 3 (EH3) and epoxide hydrolase 4 (EH4) are structurally closely related isozymes. Other enzymes with epoxide hydrolase activity include leukotriene A4 hydrolase, Cholesterol-5,6-oxide hydrolase, MEST (gene) (Peg1/MEST), and Hepoxilin-epoxide hydrolase. The hydrolases are distinguished from each other by their substrate preferences and, directly related to this, their functions.
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.
Leukotriene A4 (LTA4) is a leukotriene, and is the precursor for the productions of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and leukotriene C4 (LTC4).
Leukotriene C4 (LTC4) is a leukotriene. LTC4 has been extensively studied in the context of allergy and asthma. In cells of myeloid origin such as mast cells, its biosynthesis is orchestrated by translocation to the nuclear envelope along with co-localization of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) and LTC4 synthase (LTC4S), which couples glutathione to an LTA4 intermediate. The MRP1 transporter then secretes cytosolic LTC4 and cell surface proteases further metabolize it by sequential cleavage of the γ-glutamyl and glycine residues off its glutathione segment, generating the more stable products LTD4 and LTE4. All three leukotrienes then bind at different affinities to two G-protein coupled receptors: CYSLTR1 and CYSLTR2, triggering pulmonary vasoconstriction and bronchoconstriction.
Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase, also known as ALOX5, 5-lipoxygenase, 5-LOX, or 5-LO, is a non-heme iron-containing enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ALOX5 gene. Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase is a member of the lipoxygenase family of enzymes. It transforms essential fatty acids (EFA) substrates into leukotrienes as well as a wide range of other biologically active products. ALOX5 is a current target for pharmaceutical intervention in a number of diseases.
Leukotriene C4 synthase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the LTC4S gene.
Epi-lipoxins are trihydroxy metabolites of arachidonic acid. They are 15R-epimers of their lipoxin counterparts; that is, the epi-lipoxins, 15-epi-lipoxin A4 (15-epi-LxA4) and 15-epi-lipoxin B4 (15-epi-LXB4), differ from their respective lipoxin A4 (LxA4) and lipoxin B4 (LxB4) epimers in that their 15-hydroxy residue has R rather than S chirality. Formulae for these lipoxins (Lx) are:
In enzymology, a leukotriene-E4 20-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.34) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
ALOX12, also known as arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase, 12-lipoxygenase, 12S-Lipoxygenase, 12-LOX, and 12S-LOX is a lipoxygenase-type enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ALOX12 gene which is located along with other lipoyxgenases on chromosome 17p13.3. ALOX12 is 75 kilodalton protein composed of 663 amino acids.
In enzymology, a polyenoic fatty acid isomerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a hepoxilin-epoxide hydrolase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of the epoxyalcohol metabolites arachidonic acid, hepoxilin A3 and hepoxilin B3 to their tri-hydroxyl products, trioxolin A3 and trioxilin B3, respectively. These reactions in general inactivate the two biologically active hepoxilins.
Leukotriene A4 hydrolase, also known as LTA4H is a human gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a bifunctional enzyme which converts leukotriene A4 to leukotriene B4 and acts as an aminopeptidase.
In enzymology, a homocitrate synthase (EC 2.3.3.14) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Microsomal glutathione S-transferase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MGST1 gene.
In molecular biology the MAPEG family of proteins are a group of membrane associated proteins with highly divergent functions. Included are the 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein, leukotriene C4 synthase, which catalyzes the production of leukotriene C4 (LTC4) from leukotriene A4 (LTA4), and microsomal glutathione S-transferase II (GST-II), which also produces LTC4 from LTA4.
Microsomal glutathione S-transferase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MGST2 gene.
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), 5(S),15(S)-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.
Eoxins are proposed to be a family of proinflammatory eicosanoids. They are produced by human eosinophils, mast cells, the L1236 Reed–Sternberg cell line derived from Hodgkin's lymphoma, and certain other tissues. These cells produce the eoxins by initially metabolizing arachidonic acid, an omega-6 (ω-6) fatty acid, via any enzyme possessing 15-lipoxygenase activity. The product of this initial metabolic step, 15(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, is then converted to a series of eoxins by the same enzymes that metabolize the 5-lipoxygenase product of arachidonic acid metabolism, i.e. 5-Hydroperoxy-eicosatetraenoic acid to a series of leukotrienes. That is, the eoxins are 14,15-disubstituted analogs of the 5,6-disubstituted leukotrienes.
