Leukotrienes B4, C4, and D4, members of a recently discovered family of substances biosynthesized from arachidonic acid, were found to have potent microvascular actions in the hamster cheek pouch. When applied topically to the vascular network, leukotrienes C4 and D4 caused an intense constriction of arterioles, being similar to angiotensin in potency in this respect. The vasoconstriction induced by leukotrienes C4 and D4 was short-lived, and it was consistently followed by a marked and dosedependent extravasation of macromolecules from postcapillary venules. Histamine did not constrict arterioles, but it elicited leakage of plasma, although on a molar basis it was no more than 1/ 1000th as potent as the leukotrienes. When used in the same concentration range as leukotrienes C4 and D4, leukotriene B4 did not evoke vasoconstriction or promote plasma leakage. On the other hand, leukotriene B4 caused a conspicuous and reversible adhesion ofleukocytes to the endothelium in postcapillary venules. Our findings that leukotrienes induce microcirculatory alterations in vivo, closely resembling the early events in the acute inflammatory response, imply that leukotrienes, formed in several blod-borne and tissue-bound cells, may mediate important microcirculatory adjustments to noxious stimuli.

Slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) is released by various stimuli, including immunological challenge, and has long been considered an important mediator of immediate hypersensitivity reactions, such as bronchoconstriction in allergic asthma. Recently, slow reacting substances from several tissues have been identified and characterized as members of a newly discovered group of substances, the leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are generated from arachidonic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids in a pathway initially involving a lipoxygenase-catalysed oxygenation at C-5 (Fig. 1). This differs from the synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes, where the initial transformation of arachidonic acid is catalysed by a cyclo oxygenase (Fig. 1). Recently, leukotriene C4(LTC4:5(S)-hydroxy,6(R)-S-glutathionyl-7,9-trans, 11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid) and D4(LTD4:5(S)-hydroxy,6(R)-S-cysteinyl-glycyl-7,9-trans,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid) were found to have biological effects in several bioassay systems, which are strikingly similar to those previously reported for impure extracts of SRS-A. Here we report the remarkable contractile activity of both LTC4 and LTD4 on isolated human bronchi, which further emphasizes the possibility that leukotrienes are potent mediators of bronchoconstriction in man.

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Murine mastocytoma cells treated with calcium ionophore A23187 produced a slow-reacting substance (SRS) that caused guinea pig ileum to contract. The response was reversed by the SRS antagonist FPL 55712. On the basis of isotope incorporation experiments, spectroscopy, and chemical degradations, the SRS was identified as a cysteine-containing derivative of 5-hydroxy-7,9,11,14-icosatetraenoic acid. This amino acid was attached in thioether linkage at C-6. The SRS is structurally related to previously identified epoxy and dihydroxy metabolites of arachidonic acid in leukocytes. A common fea-

Lesional epidermis of psoriasis has a probable reduction in the cyclic AMP/cyclic GMP ratio. This altered ratio may in part be responsible for the characteristic glycogen storage, rapid cell proliferation, and reduced differentiation in lesional epidermis. The concentrations of prostaglandins E2 and F2alpha, free arachidonic acid, and 12L-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetrawnoic acid in specimens of uninvolved and involved epidermis of psoriasis were measured with deuterium-labeled carriers and multiple ion analysis. Snap frozen specimens contained: 1.4 +/- 0.4 mug/g (wet weight) of arachidonic acid in uninvolved in contrast to 36.3 +/- 16.7 mug/g in involved epidermis (P = 0.015); less than 0.05 +/- 0.01 mug/g of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid in uninvolved in contrast to 4.1 +/- 1.9 mug/g in involved epidermis (P = 0.015); 23.6 +/- 5.0 ng/g of prostaglandin E2 in uninvolved in contrast to 33.1 +/- 5.7 ng/g in involved epidermis (P less than 0.01); and 21.0 +/- 4.4 ng/g of prostaglandin F2alpha in uninvolved in contrast to 39.0 +/- 5.9 ng/g in involved epidermis (P less than 0.01). The arachidonic acid and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid levels in involved epidermis were strongly correlated (r = 0.97). The increased levels of arachidonic acid and 12L-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid in involved epidermis may have diagnostic and pathophysiological importance.

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