Arachidonic Acid

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) are the predominant long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) among membrane phospholipids in the mammalian brain and neural tissues. This cross-sectional study examined age effects on serum eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), DHA, and ARA compositions assessed with reference to dietary intakes among 1,014 Japanese men and 1,028 Japanese women aged 40-79 years. Venous blood was collected early in the morning after at least 12-h fasting. Serum fatty acid (FA) compositions were expressed as molar percentages of the total FA (mol% of total).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are progressive brain disorders. Upregulated mRNA and protein levels of neuroinflammatory and arachidonic acid (AA) markers with loss of synaptic markers (synaptophysin and drebrin) have been reported in brain tissue from AD and BD patients. We hypothesized that some of these changes are associated with epigenetic modifications of relevant genes.

The in vitro antimalarial activities of artemisone and artemisone entrapped in Pheroid vesicles were compared, as was their ability to induce dormancy in Plasmodium falciparum. There was no increase in the activity of artemisone entrapped in Pheroid vesicles against multidrug-resistant P. falciparum lines. Artemisone induced the formation of dormant ring stages similar to dihydroartemisinin. Thus, the Pheroid delivery system neither improved the activity of artemisone nor prevented the induction of dormant rings.

In traditional medicine, Ayurveda, several spices and herbs are held to possess medicinal properties. Earlier we have reported that extracts from several spices, including turmeric, inhibit platelet aggregation and modulate eicosanoid biosynthesis. Due to their eicosanoid-modulating property, it was suggested that the spices may serve to provide clues to drugs directed to arachidonic acid (AA) pathway enzymes as pharmacological targets. Curcumin, a major component of turmeric, inhibited platelet aggregation induced by arachidonate, adrenaline and collagen.

The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of Phaseolus vulgaris, an indigenous plant used in Unani and Ayurvedic medicine in India, on blood glucose, plasma insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, phospholipids, and fatty acid composition of total lipids in liver, kidney, and brain of normal and streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. The results show that there was a significant increase in tissue cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids in STZ diabetic rats.

Preliminary clinical data indicate that omega-3 fatty acids may be effective mood stabilizers for patients with bipolar disorder. Both lithium and valproic acid are known to inhibit protein kinase C (PKC) activity after subchronic administration in cell culture and in vivo. The current study was undertaken to determine the effects of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on protein kinase C phosphotransferase activity in vitro.

gamma-Tocopherol (gammaT), the predominant form of vitamin E in diets, but not alpha-tocopherol, the major vitamin E form in tissues and supplements, inhibits proliferation of prostate cancer cells (LNCaP and PC-3) and lung cancer cells (A549). In contrast, at similar concentrations, gammaT has no effect on normal prostate epithelial cells. Combinations of some vitamin E forms, such as gammaT and delta-tocopherol, exhibit additive or synergistic inhibitory effects.

It is well documented that arachidonic acid (AA) and its metabolites are intimately linked to cancer biology. However, the downstream mechanism(s) that link AA levels to cancer cell proliferation remain to be elucidated. Initial experiments in the current study showed that exogenous AA and inhibitors of AA metabolism that lead to the accumulation of unesterified AA are cytotoxic to the colon cancer cell line, HCT-116. Additionally, exogenous AA and triacsin C, an inhibitor of AA acylation, induced apoptosis and related caspase-3 activity in a transcriptionally dependent manner.

Although the role of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism to eicosanoids has been well established in allergy and asthma, recent studies in neoplastic cells have revealed that AA remodeling through phospholipids impacts cell survival. This study tests the hypothesis that regulation of AA/phospholipid-remodeling enzymes, cytosolic phospholipase A(2) alpha(cPLA(2)-alpha, gIValphaPLA(2)) and CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT), provides a mechanism for altered eosinophil survival during allergic asthma.

Excessive production of Aβ (amyloid β-peptide) has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD (Alzheimer's disease). Although not yet well understood, aggregation of Aβ is known to cause toxicity to neurons. Our recent study demonstrated the ability for oligomeric Aβ to stimulate the production of ROS (reactive oxygen species) in neurons through an NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate)-dependent pathway. However, whether prolonged exposure of neurons to aggregated Aβ is associated with impairment of NMDA receptor function has not been extensively investigated.