Arachidonic acid sources

Some fatty acids are not synthesized by mammals and yet are necessary for normal growth and life. These essential fatty aeids include llnoleic and y-linolenic acids. These must be obtained by mammals in their diet (specifically from plant sources). Arachidonic acid, which is not found in plants, can only be synthesized by mammals from linoleic acid. At least one function of the essential fatty acids is to serve as a precursor for the synthesis of eicosanoids, such as... 

As the first isolable intermediate in the bioconversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins and thromboxanes (Eq. 3), PGG2 is a bicyclic peroxide of immense biological importance. It is difficult to obtain pure from natural sources and the presence of the 15-hydroperoxide group adds a further dimension of chemical lability to that associated with the 9,11-peroxide bridge. The chemical synthesis of PGG2 is thus a landmark in prostaglandin chemistry. It also represents a pinnacle of success for the silver-salt route to bicyclic peroxides. 

Another metabolite of arachidonic acid is prostacyclin (PGI2). As with TxA2, PGI2 is produced continuously. Synthesized by vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, with the endothelium as the predominant source, PGI2 mediates effects that are opposite to those of TxA2. Prostacyclin causes vasodilation and inhibits platelet aggregation and, as a result, makes an important contribution to the antithrombogenic nature of the vascular wall. 

The source of free radicals is multiplied under these circumstances, arachidonic acid metabolism, activation of xanthine oxidase, perturbation of electron flow within the respiratory chain, and NOS activation. Structurally, excitotoxicity is generally described as a necrotic process involving initial swelling of the cell and of the endoplasmic reticulum, clumping of chromatin, followed by swelling of the... 

Incubation of BP with arachidonic acid and ram seminal vesicle micro-somes, a rich source of PGH synthase, produces 1,6-, 3,6-, and 6,12-quinones as the exclusive products of oxidation (Figure 2) (18). 

Mitochondria, nitric oxide synthase and arachidonic acid metabolism are sources of reactive oxygen species during ischemia—reperfusion injury 568... 

Mitochondria, nitric oxide synthase and arachidonic acid metabolism are sources of reactive oxygen species during ischemia-reperfusion injury. ROS generation during ischemia-reperfusion may come from several sources, including NOS activity, mitochondrial electron transport, multiple steps in the metabolism of arachidonic... 

FIGURE 32-7 Sources of free radical formation which may contribute to injury during ischemia-reperfusion. Nitric oxide synthase, the mitochondrial electron-transport chain and metabolism of arachidonic acid are among the likely contributors. CaM, calcium/calmodulin FAD, flavin adenine dinucleotide FMN, flavin mononucleotide HtT, tetrahydrobiopterin HETES, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids L, lipid alkoxyl radical LOO, lipid peroxyl radical NO, nitric oxide 0 "2, superoxide radical. 

Prostaglandins are a subgroup of a larger family of compounds known collectively as eicosanoids, which are synthesized from arachidonic acid (arachidonate) this is a 20-carbon omega-6 unsaturated fatty acid (C20 4). The source of the arachidonic acid for PG synthesis is the cell membrane. Most membrane phospholipids have an unsaturated fatty acid as arachidonate at carbon 2 on the glycerol backbone to help maintain membrane fluidity. The arachidonic acid released from the membrane by the... 

Sources of prostaglandins are the fatty acids of omega-3 and omega-6 classes. Both of these fatty acid classes are compulsory components of cell membranes however, their metaholism and action are sufficiently different. Fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are sources of prostacyclin as well as thromhoxane. The fatty acids of the omega-3 family with 20 carhon atoms or more displace the balance of prostacyclin... 

Another commercially available product containing naturally occurring marine products is Formulaid , produced by Martek Biosciences as a nutritional supplement for infant formulas. Formulaid contains two fatty acids, arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), extracted from a variety of marine microalgae. ARA and DHA are the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids found in breast milk, and they are the most important fatty acids used in the development of brain gray matter. They are especially desirable for use in infant formulas because they come from nonmeat sources and can be advertised as vegetarian additives to the product. 

Eurther work on the isolation of related compounds from mammalian sources, which spanned several decades, led to the identification of a large group of structurally related substances. Investigations on their biosynthesis made it evident that aU eventually arise from the oxidation of the endogenous substance, arachidonic acid. The individual products induce a variety of very potent biological responses, with inflammation predominating. Arachidonic acid, once freed from lipids by the enzyme phospholipase A2, can enter one of two branches of the arachidonic acid... 

Cells of the immune system contribute substantially to eicosanoid biosynthesis during an immune reaction. T and lymphocytes are not primary synthetic sources however, they may supply arachidonic acid to monocyte-macrophages for eicosanoid synthesis. In addition, there is evidence for eicosanoid-mediated cell-cell interaction by platelets, erythrocytes, leukocytes, and endothelial cells. 

Arachidonic acid (5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid), a polyunsaturated fatty acid derived from dietary sources or by desaturation and chain elongation of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid, is found widely in the body. It is transported in a protein-bound state and stored in the phospholipids of cell membranes in all tissues of the body [108] from where it can be changed into biologically... 

Arachidonic acid released from membrane phospholipids or other sources is metabolized by the LO pathway to the smooth muscle contractile and vasoactive leukotrienes (LT), LTC4, and LTD4, as well as to the potent chemoattractant LTB4. These molecules are intimately involved in inflammation, asthma, and allergy, as well as in other multiple physiological and pathological processes. For example, cirsiliol (3, 4, 5-trihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone) proved to be a potent inhibitor of 5-LO (IC50, 0.1 pM) derived from basophilic leukemia cells and peritoneal polymorphonuclear leukocytes. 

Fig. 2. Ptdlns 4,5-P2-derived second messengers. Ptdlns 4,5-P2 is hydrolysed when a phospholipase C (Ptdlns 4,5-P2 phosphodiesterase) is activated following the binding of specific agonists to their surface receptor proteins. The Ptdlns 4,5-P2 is cleaved to yield diacylglycerol (DG), which is a co-activator of protein kinase C and other enzymes, and Ins( 1,4,5)P, which is capable of releasing Ca2 from intracellular stores. The DG often contains arachidonic acid, which is the source of the prostanoids, which are also capable of controlling diverse cellular functions. The arachidonic acid is cleaved from the parent lipid or from DG by specific phospholipase A2 enzymes.

During hormonal stimulation of Ptdlns 4,5-P2 hydrolysis there appears to be a preferential degradation of molecules, such as diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid, which contain arachidonate in the 2-position. Two separate pathways have been proposed for the release of arachidonic acid from these two products of the phosphoinositide response. The first proposes that diacylglycerol is the source of the liberated arachidonate and that diacylglycerol lipase acts on the DG released by hydrolysis of phosphoinositides. The second suggests that a phosphatidic acid-specific phospholipase A2 is responsible for cleaving the arachidonic acid from phosphati-date. 

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