Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is exacerbated in mice deficient for 12/15-lipoxygenase or 5-lipoxygenase.

12/15-Lipoxygenase (12/15-LO) produces 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) and 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE) which are agonists for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma). PPARgamma agonists reduce clinical severity of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis. In contrast, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) produces the generally proinflammatory leukotrienes (LTs) which would be expected to worsen EAE. We tested the hypotheses that EAE severity would be exacerbated in 12/15-LO-deficient mice and attenuated in 5-LO-deficient mice. 12/15-LO deficiency conferred a significantly worse disease course, and surprisingly, 5-LO deficiency also caused significantly more severe EAE compared to control mice. These data suggest that PPARgamma-regulated gene expression and that 5-LO production of certain LTs have the ability to diminish EAE. Continued analysis will provide insight into the endogenous LO-generated effectors that assist in tempering EAE.