Prostaglandins, Laukotrienes and Other Eicosanoids: From Biogenesis to Clinical Application

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential for human cell metabolism. As precursors of a very large and extremely versatile family of signaling compounds they play a key role in intracellular communication. Eicosanoids constitute one of the most abundant and prominent subfamilies of these fatty acid derivatives which are formed primarily along oxidative pathways. Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and related eicosanoids have a modulatory function in mammalian cells and are responsible for tissue responses such as inflammation or wound repair. Increasing activity in eicosanoid research sheds new light on today's most common diseases including atherosclerosis, cancer, Alzheimer's, allergies, and rheumatic diseases. The recent advances already have far-reaching implications in medicine. This detailed account, written by leading experts, covers the ground-breaking developments in recent eicosanoid research. The topics span eicosanoid biogenesis, new aspects of their pathophysiology, for example their influence on the cardiovascular system, as well as the clinical application of synthetic eicosanoids and their antagonists. Researchers and students working in biochemistry or in pharmaceutical, physiological, medicinal and neurochemistry will value this informative introduction to one of the most rapidly developing fields in cell biology. Content: Chapter 1 Arachidonic Acid and Companions: An Abundant Source of Biological Signals (pages 1–46): Friedrich Marks Chapter 2 The Generation of Free Arachidonic Acid (pages 47–64): Peter Dieter Chapter 3 Cyclooxygenases (pages 65–88): Karin Muller?Decker Chapter 4 Prostanoid Synthases (pages 89–108): Christian Martin and Volker Ullrich Chapter 5 Lipoxygenases (pages 109–141): Hartmut Kuhn Chapter 6 Oxygenation of Arachidonic Acid by Cytochromes P?450 (pages 142–168): Ernst H. Oliw and Johanna Ericsson Chapter 7 Renal Eicosanoids (pages 169–197): Margarete Goppelt?Strube and Joachim Fauler Chapter 8 The Role of Eicosanoids in Reproduction (pages 198–232): H. P. Zahradnik, B. Wetzka and W. R. Schafer Chapter 9 The Role of Eicosanoids in Inflammation and Allergy (pages 233–272): Eva Wikstrom Jonsson and Sven?Erik Dahlen Chapter 10 Prostanoids in the Cardiovascular System (pages 273–301): Lukasz Partyka, Arsineh Arakil Aghajanian and Helmut Sinzinger Chapter 11 Eicosanoids and Cancer (pages 303–330): Friedrich Marks and Gerhard Furstenberger Chapter 12 Synthetic Eicosanoids: Development and Clinical Applications (pages 331–374): Bernd Buchmann, Ulrich Klar, Hartmut Rehwinkel and Werner Skuballa