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Vitamin E modulates the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid in leukocytes

Nature volume 288, pages 183–185 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

The arachidonic acid released from cellular phospholipids of specifically stimulated platelets and leukocytes is oxygenated enzymatically by two major pathways1–5. A complex cyclo-oxygenase converts some of the free arachidonic acid to labile endoperoxides that are transformed to prostaglandins, thromboxanes and prostacyclin (PGI2). Lipoxygenases convert part of the arachidonic acid to unstable hydroperoxy-eicosatetraenoic acids (OOHETEs) that are transformed to monohydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), oligohydroxy-eicosatetraenoic or -eicosatrienoic acids such as di-HETEs and tri-HETEs, and, in some instances, more complex humoral mediators, including slow-reacting substances5–9. Both the nature of the HETEs and the ratio of the HETEs to the cyclo-oxygenase products are specific characteristics of each type of cell2,5. In human neutrophils, the sum of the lipoxygenase products 5-HETE, 11-HETE and 5,12-di-HETE substantially exceeds the total amount of PGE2 and other cyclo-oxygenase metabolites that are generated concurrently3,4, and the endogenous lipoxygenase products regulate neutrophil function. The present data indicate that vitamin E (α-tocopherol) bidirectionally modulates the activity of the lipoxygenase pathway of human neutrophils in vitro. Normal plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol enhance the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid, whereas higher concentrations of α-tocopherol exert a suppressive effect that is consistent with its role as a hydroperoxide scavenger.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Laboratory at Harvard Medical School, and the Departments of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115

    Edward J. Goetzl

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  1. Edward J. Goetzl
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Goetzl, E. Vitamin E modulates the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid in leukocytes. Nature 288, 183–185 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/288183a0

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