Leukotrienes are potent inflammatory mediators synthesized from arachidonic acid (AA) predominately by cells of myeloid origin. The synthesis of these lipids is believed to be dependent not only on the expression of the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), which catalyzes the first steps in the synthesis of leukotrienes, but also on expression of a nuclear membrane protein termed the 5-LO–activating protein (FLAP). To study the relationship of these two proteins in mediating the production of leukotrienes in vivo and to determine whether the membrane protein FLAP has additional functions in various inflammatory processes, we have generated a mouse line deficient in this protein. FLAP-deficient mice develop normally and are healthy. However, an array of assays comparing inflammatory reactions in FLAP-deficient mice and in normal controls revealed that FLAP plays a role in a subset of these reactions. Although examination of DTH and IgE-mediated passive anaphylaxis showed no difference between wild-type and FLAP-deficient animals, mice without FLAP possessed a blunted inflammatory response to topical AA and had increased resistance to platelet-activating factor–induced shock compared to controls. Also, edema associated with Zymosan A–induced peritonitis was markedly reduced in animals lacking FLAP. To determine whether these differences relate solely to a deficit in leukotriene production, or whether they reflect an additional role for FLAP in inflammation, we compared the FLAP-deficient mice to 5-LO–deficient animals. Evaluation of mice lacking FLAP and 5-LO indicated that production of leukotrienes during inflammatory responses is dependent upon the availability of FLAP and did not support additional functions for FLAP beyond its role in leukotriene production.

Collagen-induced arthritis in the DBA/1 mouse is an experimental model of human rheumatoid arthritis. To examine the role of leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of this disease, we have developed embryonic stem (ES) cells from this mouse strain. Here, we report that DBA/1 mice made deficient in 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) by gene targeting in ES cells develop and grow normally. Zymosan-stimulated leukotriene production in the peritoneal cavity of these mice is undetectable, whereas they produce substantial amounts of prostaglandins. The inflammatory response to zymosan is reduced in FLAP-deficient mice. The severity of collagen-induced arthritis in the FLAP-deficient mice was substantially reduced when compared with wild-type or heterozygous animals. This was not due to an immunosuppressive effect, because anti-collagen antibody levels were similar in wild-type and FLAP-deficient mice. These data demonstrate that leukotrienes play an essential role in both the acute and chronic inflammatory response in mice.

The genomic sequences encoding the human lysosomal acid lipase/cholesteryl esterase (sterol esterase; EC 3.1.1.13) have been isolated and sequenced, and the information has been used to identify mutations in both alleles of the gene from a patient with Wolman disease, an autosomal recessive lysosomal lipid storage disorder. The genomic locus consists of 10 exons spread over 36 kb. The 5' flanking region is G+C-rlch and has caracteristics of a "housekeeping" gene promoter. One ofthe identified mutations involves the insertion of a T residue after POsi 634, resulting in the appearance of an in-frame translation stop signal 13 codons downstream. The second mutation is a T-to-C transition at nucleotide 638. This results in a leucine-to-proline substitution at amino acid 179 and is predicted to lead to the disruption of the a-helical structure in a highly conserved region of the protein.