Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) is an endogenous cytochrome P-450 product present in vascular smooth muscle and uniquely located in the vascular endothelium of pulmonary arteries (PAs). 20-HETE enhances reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of bovine PA endothelial cells (BPAECs) in an NADPH oxidase-dependent manner and is postulated to promote angiogenesis via activation of this pathway in systemic vascular beds. We tested the capacity of 20-HETE or a stable analog of this compound, 20-hydroxy-eicosa-5(Z),14(Z)-dienoic acid, to enhance survival and protect against apoptosis in BPAECs stressed with serum starvation. 20-HETE produced a concentration-dependent increase in numbers of starved BPAECs and increased 5-bromo-2Ј-deoxyuridine incorporation. Caspase-3 activity, nuclear fragmentation studies, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays supported protection from apoptosis and enhanced survival of starved BPAECs treated with a single application of 20-HETE. Protection from apoptosis depended on intact NADPH oxidase, phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI3)-kinase, and ROS production. 20-HETE-stimulated ROS generation by BPAECs was blocked by inhibition of PI3-kinase or Akt activity. These data suggest 20-HETEassociated protection from apoptosis in BPAECs required activation of PI3-kinase and Akt and generation of ROS. 20-HETE also protected against apoptosis in BPAECs stressed by lipopolysaccharide, and in mouse PAs exposed to hypoxia reoxygenation ex vivo. In summary, 20-HETE may afford a survival advantage to BPAECs through activation of prosurvival PI3-kinase and Akt pathways, NADPH oxidase activation, and NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide.reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase oxidase; reactive oxygen species; phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; Akt; hypoxia CYTOCHROME P-450 (CYP) ENZYMES can metabolize arachidonic acid into numerous eicosanoids, with the relative abundance dependent on the tissue and species (21). The major products in most tissues are the -hydroxylated metabolite 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) and regio-and stereo-specific epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. 20-HETE, a -hydroxylation product of arachidonic acid catalyzed by CYP4A, is a paracrine and autocrine mediator of numerous cellular processes (20,29,35). It is produced in vascular smooth muscle, renal, cerebral, pulmonary, mesenteric, and skeletal muscle beds and acts on the microvasculature and kidney tubules (11,18,22,33,38).Our laboratory has recently reported that 20-HETE/CYP4 enhances reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in bovine pulmonary artery (PA) endothelial cells (BPAECs) in a manner that is associated with activation of NADPH oxidase (24). 20-HETE has been linked to ROS production in other vascular beds (19), with 20-HETE-stimulated production of ROS being reported to exert either positive or negative effects in a tissueand concentration-specific manner (e.g., Refs. 9, 17). In addition, NADPH oxidase is proposed to have a key role in growth and migration of human coronary endot...