Hepoxilin

Hepoxilins (Hx) A3 (i.e. HxA3) and B3 (i.e. HxB3), and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassic eicosanoid derivatives of the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), arachidonic acid. A second group of less well studied hepoxilins, HxA4, HXB4, and their non-enzymatically formed isomers are nonclassical eicosanoid deriviatives of the PUFA,eicosapentaenoic acid. More recently,14,15-HXA3 and 14,15-HXB3 have been defined as arachidonic acid derivatives that are produced by a different metabolic pathway than HxA3, HXB3, HXA4, or HXB4. Finally, hepoxilin-like products of two other PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid and linoleic acid, have been described. Some of the hepoxilins have been found to have a range of biological activities in animal models and/or cultured mammalian (including human) tissues. It has been proposed that these activity studies indicate the these hepoxilins function in human physiology and pathology such as the stimulation of insulin secretion and inflammation responses.