Arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase

Chi, Y.S. et al., Effects of naturally occurring prenylated flavonoids on enzymes metabolizing arachidonic acid cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenases, Biochem. Pharmacol., 62, 1185, 2001. 

There are many studies about the relation between the free oxygen radical scavenging activities of many flavonoids and their effects on the enzymes which take part in the metabolism of arachidonic acid, cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX). Duneic [182] shows that the antiradical action affects the COX activity in several ways. In most of the cases, at high substrate concentrations the enzymatic activity was intensified and at low concentrations it was inhibited. Apparently, the influence of the antiradical properties on the activity of enzymatic metabolism of the arachidonic acid in vitro might also be due to the effect of these agents on the active center of the enzymes. 

Phospholipase converts membrane phospholipid to arachidonic acid. Cyclooxygenases convert arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. COX-2 is the enzyme believed to be responsible for this reaction in inflammatoiy cells. The answer is (B). 

Studies of the biosynthesis of PGE2 from arachidonic acid have shown that all three oxygens come from O2 The enzyme involved prostaglandin endoperoxide syn tliase has cyclooxygenase (COX) activity and catalyzes the reaction of arachidonic acids with O2 to give an endoperoxide (PGG2)... 

The enzyme system responsible for the biosynthesis of PGs is widely distributed in mammalian tissues and has been extensively studied (2). It is referred to as prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) and exhibits both cyclooxygenase and peroxidase activity. In addition to the classical PGs two other prostanoid products, thromboxane [57576-52-0] (TxA ) (3) and prostacyclin [35121 -78-9] (PGI2) (4) are also derived from the action of the enzyme system on arachidonic acid (Fig. 1). 

All prostaglandins are cyclopentanoic acids derived from arachidonic acid. The biosynthesis of prostaglandins is initiated by an enzyme associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, called prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase, also known as cyclooxygenase. The enzyme catalyzes simultaneous oxidation and cyclization of arachidonic acid. The enzyme is viewed as having two distinct activities, cyclooxygenase and peroxidase, as shown in Figure 25.28. 

In this bromoaspirin-inactivated structure, Ser , which lies along the wall of the tunnel, is bromoacetylated, and a molecule of salicylate is also bound in the tunnel. Deep in the tunnel, at the far end, lies Tyr, a catalytically important residue. Heme-dependent peroxidase activity is implicated in the formation of a proposed Tyr radical, which is required for cyclooxygenase activity. Aspirin and other NSAIDs block the synthesis of prostaglandins by filling and blocking the tunnel, preventing the migration of arachidonic acid to Tyr in the active site at the back of the tunnel. 

Compounds 111 having structural features of the dual cyclooxygenase (COX)/5-lipooxygenase (5-LO) inhibitor tepoxalin and the 5-LO inhibitor ABT-761 were prepared. Many of these hybrid compounds are potent COX and 5-LO inhibitors two compounds (111, r =McO, R = R" = R = H, R = NH2, R = Me and r = MeO, R = R = Me, R" = R = H, R = Cl) inhibited eicosanoid biosynthesis in an ex vivo assay, but neither improved on the main deficiency of tepoxalin, duration of 5-LO inhibitory activity (99BMCL979). Compounds 111 inhibit the production of arachidonic acid products associated with 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase and are useful in the treatment of inflammatory disorders (99USP5925769). 

NSAIDs inhibit cyclooxygenases (COX), the enzymes that catalyze the transformation of arachidonic acid (a ubiquitous cell component generated from phospholipids) to prostaglandins and thromboxanes. Two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2, are constitutively expressed in peripheral tissues and in the central nervous... 

TXA2 is produced by activated platelets via the sequential conversion of arachidonic acid by phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), and thromboxane synthase. Similar to ADP, TXA2 acts as a... 

Aspirin sensitive asthma, affecting about 10% of all asthmatics, is a nonallergic response to aspirin and other agents that inhibit cyclooxygenase-1. Mechanistically, the most likely reasons are lack of bronchoprotective prostaglandin E2 and shunting of arachidonic acid into the leukotriene pathway. 

Cyclooxygenase (COX) activity is responsible for the formation of prostaglandins from their arachidonic acid precursor. Two COX isoforms have been identified, COX-1 and COX-2. While COX-1 is constitutively expressed in most tissues, COX-2 is typically only found after induction by proinflammatory stimuli. However, a constitutively expressed and highly regulated COX-2 is found in the kidney, both in the renal medulla and in the renal cortex. Renal cortical COX-2 is located in the area ofthe juxtaglomerular apparatus, and prostaglandins formed by COX-2 regulate the expression and secretion of renin in response to a reduction in NaCl concentration at the macula densa. 

Cyclooxygenases. Figure 1 Pathways for the formation of prostanoids from arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is converted by cyclooxygenase to endoperoxides, which are acted upon by various synthesases to form the prostanoids. Prostacyclin and thromboxane are relatively unstable and break down rapidly to form the inactive metabolites 6-oxo-PGF1a and thromboxane B2, respectively. 

Any of the collection of oxygenated metabolites of arachidonic acid that are the product of cyclooxygenase, cytochrome P450, or lipoxygenase pathways. 

CYP5 synthesizes thromboxane A2, a fatty acid in the arachidonic acid cascade that causes platelet aggregation. Aspirin prevents platelet aggregation because it blocks the cyclooxygenases COX1 and COX2 which catalyze the initial step of the biotransformation of arachidonic acid to thromboxane and prostaglandins. 

Palytoxin is hemolytic (4) and is an extremely potent toxin (7). We have shown that in rat liver cells palytoxin stimulates de-esterification of cellular lipids to liberate arachidonic acid (5). These rat liver cells metabolize this increased arachidonic acid via the cyclooxygenase pathway to produce prostaglandin (PG) I2 and lesser amounts of PGE2 and PGp2. Palytoxin acts on many cells in culture to stimulate the production of cyclooxygenase metabolites (Table I). Clearly, the myriad pharmacological effects of the arachidonic acid metabolites must be considered in any explanation of the many clinical manifestations of palytoxin s toxicity. 

Table I. Cells in Which Arachidonic Acid Metabolism Is Stimulated by Palytoxin to Produce Cyclooxygenase Products ...

Williams, JH and Bliss, TV (1989) An in vitro study of the effect of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase inhibitors of arachidonic acid on the induction and maintenance of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. Neurosci. Lett. 107 301-309. 

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