Arachidonic acid reactions

Animal systems. Enzymic oxidation of animal systems involves mainly arachidonic acid though some other polyene C2Q acids undergo similar reactions. Most in vitro studies are therefore conducted with arachidonic acid. Reactions leading to prostaglandins and leucotrienes are covered in Chapter 5 but there remain a number of interesting enzymic oxidation processes. 

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)... 

Detailed accounts of the biosynthesis of the prostanoids have been pubUshed (14—17). Under normal circumstances arachidonic acid (AA) is the most abundant C-20 fatty acid m vivo (18—21) which accounts for the predominance of the prostanoids containing two double bonds eg, PGE2 (see Fig. 1). Prostanoids of the one and three series are biosynthesized from dihomo-S-linolenic and eicosapentaenoic acids, respectively. Concentrations ia human tissue of the one-series precursor, dihomo-S-linolenic acid, are about one-fourth those of AA (22) and the presence of PGE has been noted ia a variety of tissues (23). The biosynthesis of the two-series prostaglandins from AA is shown ia Eigure 1. These reactions make up a portion of what is known as the arachidonic acid cascade. Other Hpid products of the cascade iaclude the leukotrienes, lipoxins, and the hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs). Collectively, these substances are termed eicosanoids. 

The first step in the biosynthesis of eicosanoids from arachidonic acid is generally a lipoxygenation reaction. The resulting hydroperoxides (HPETE s) can undergo reduction to the corresponding alcohols (HETE s). Preparative routes to the 5-, 11-, and 15-HETE s and HPETE s have been developed as oudine below. 

This remarkably selective internal epoxidation of peroxyarachidonic acid to form 14,15-oxido-arachidonic acid occurs as shown because of unusually favorable stereoelectronics. The corresponding reaction sequence with eicosa-(E)-8,ll,14-trienoic acid affords the Ai4,i5 epoxide in 94% isolated yield and >95% purity. 

Mammals can add additional double bonds to unsaturated fatty acids in their diets. Their ability to make arachidonic acid from linoleic acid is one example (Figure 25.15). This fatty acid is the precursor for prostaglandins and other biologically active derivatives such as leukotrienes. Synthesis involves formation of a linoleoyl ester of CoA from dietary linoleic acid, followed by introduction of a double bond at the 6-position. The triply unsaturated product is then elongated (by malonyl-CoA with a decarboxylation step) to yield a 20-carbon fatty acid with double bonds at the 8-, 11-, and 14-positions. A second desaturation reaction at the 5-position followed by an acyl-CoA synthetase reaction (Chapter 24) liberates the product, a 20-carbon fatty acid with double bonds at the 5-, 8-, IT, and ITpositions. 

Figure 7.9 Pathway for the biosynthesis of prostaglandins from arachidonic acid. Steps 2 and 5 are radical addition reactions to 02 steps 3 and 4 are radical additions to carbon-carbon double bonds.

PGHS accomplishes two transformations, an initial reaction of arachidonic acid with 02 to yield PGG2 and a subsequent reduction of the hydroperoxide group (-OOH) to the alcohol PGH2- The sequence of steps involved in these transformations was shown in Figure 7.9, page 244. 

Type I allergic reactions are inappropriate immune responses to an allergen with preferential synthesis of immunoglobulin E (IgE), a special antibody class, which binds to mast cells and basophilic granulocytes via Fee receptors. Binding of the allergen to the cell-bound IgE initiates the rapid release of allergic mediators, most prominently histamine, and the de novo synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites and cytokines, which are responsible for the clinical symptoms. 

Applications of peroxide formation are underrepresented in chiral synthetic chemistry, most likely owing to the limited stability of such intermediates. Lipoxygenases, as prototype biocatalysts for such reactions, display rather limited substrate specificity. However, interesting functionalizations at allylic positions of unsaturated fatty acids can be realized in high regio- and stereoselectivity, when the enzymatic oxidation is coupled to a chemical or enzymatic reduction process. While early work focused on derivatives of arachidonic acid chemical modifications to the carboxylate moiety are possible, provided that a sufficiently hydrophilic functionality remained. By means of this strategy, chiral diendiols are accessible after hydroperoxide reduction (Scheme 9.12) [103,104]. 

Contrary to other elicitors of non-immune anaphylactic reactions (radiocontrast media, neuromuscular blocking agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)) where there are at least hypothetical concepts regarding the pathomecha-nism of these reactions via increased mediator release (e.g. histamine release, shift in arachidonic acid metabolism from prostaglandins towards leukotrienes, etc.) [26], there is almost no literature regarding the pathomechanism of these reactions after LA application. 

C06-0136. The heat required to sustain animais that hibernate comes from the biochemicai combustion of fatty acids, one of which is arachidonic acid. For this acid, (a) determine its structurai formuia (b) write its baianced combustion reaction (c) use average bond energies to estimate the energy released in the combustion reaction and (d) caicuiate the mass of arachidonic acid needed to warm a 500-kg bear from 5 to 25 °C. (Assume that the average heat capacity of bear flesh is 4.18 J/g K.)... 

Inflammation is a non-specific reaction which can be induced by a variety of agents apart fiom microorganisms. Lymphokines and derivatives of arachidonic acid, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes are probable mediators of the inflammatory response. The release of vasoactive amines such as histamine and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) firm activated or damaged cells also contribute to inflammation. 

Microwave heating has also been employed for performing retro-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions, as exemplified in Scheme 6.94. In the context of preparing optically pure cross-conjugated cydopentadienones as precursors to arachidonic acid derivatives, Evans, Eddolls, and coworkers performed microwave-mediated Lewis acid-catalyzed retro-Diels-Alder reactions of suitable exo-cyclic enone building blocks [193, 194], The microwave-mediated transformations were performed in dichloromethane at 60-100 °C with 0.5 equivalents of methylaluminum dichloride as catalyst and 5 equivalents of maleic anhydride as cyclopentadiene trap. In most cases, the reaction was stopped after 30 min since continued irradiation eroded the product yields. The use of short bursts of microwave irradiation minimized doublebond isomerization. 

Rodenas et al. [77] studied PMN-stimulated lipid peroxidation of arachidonic acid. As MDA formation was inhibited both with L-arginine (supposedly due to the formation of excess NO) and DTPA (an iron ion chelator), it was concluded that about 40% of peroxidation was initiated by hydroxyl radicals formed via the Fenton reaction and about 60% was mediated by peroxynitrite. However, it should be noted that the probability of hydroxyl radical-initiated lipid peroxidation is very small (see above). Phagocyte-mediated LDL oxidation is considered below. 

The unique characteristic of free peroxyl radicals formed from unsaturated fatty acids is their ability to transform into cyclic radicals. This reaction is of utmost importance because it leads to highly biologically active compounds. Enzymatic oxidation of arachidonic acid catalyzed by COX results in the formation of prostaglandins having various physiopathological... 

Schnurr et al. [22] showed that rabbit 15-LOX oxidized beef heart submitochondrial particles to form phospholipid-bound hydroperoxy- and keto-polyenoic fatty acids and induced the oxidative modification of membrane proteins. It was also found that the total oxygen uptake significantly exceeded the formation of oxygenated polyenoic acids supposedly due to the formation of hydroxyl radicals by the reaction of ubiquinone with lipid 15-LOX-derived hydroperoxides. However, it is impossible to agree with this proposal because it is known for a long time [23] that quinones cannot catalyze the formation of hydroxyl radicals by the Fenton reaction. Oxidation of intracellular unsaturated acids (for example, linoleic and arachidonic acids) by lipoxygenases can be suppressed by fatty acid binding proteins [24]. 

The title compound 160, a biologically potent metabolite of arachidonic acid metabolism, produced in the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in some mammalian cells127 128, has been synthesized129-131 by the reaction of leukotriene E4, 161, with [l-nC[acetyl chloride in 1.3% yield based on [l-nC] acetyl chloride129 (equation 55). 

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