The quest for new cysteinyl-leukotriene and lipoxin receptors: recent clues.

The metabolism of arachidonic acid via the 5-lipoxygenase enzymatic pathway leads to the formation of the cysteinyl-leukotrienes and lipoxins, which have been implicated in several inflammatory reactions. While these lipid mediators are responsible for a variety of effects, their actions occur through the activation of 3 specific types of cloned receptors (i.e., CysLT(1), CysLT(2), and ALX). Although receptor activation can explain several biological actions associated with the mediators, there is some evidence to suggest that not all responses fit the well-known characteristics of these cloned receptors. Other receptor subtypes may also exist. Interestingly, the indirect evidence for support of this observation is principally derived from work performed on either blood elements and/or vascular smooth muscle. Because the initiating events associated with inflammation are essentially of vascular origin, further work at the molecular level may be necessary to confirm the data, which do not fit the well-known CysLT and ALX receptor profiles.