Function
Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) is a crucial enzyme in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes, potent mediators of inflammation. It catalyzes the oxygenation of arachidonate to 5-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoate (5-HPETE), followed by dehydration to 5,6-epoxyeicosatetraenoate (Leukotriene A4/LTA4). This marks the first two steps in the leukotriene biosynthesis pathway. ALOX5 also catalyzes the oxygenation of arachidonate into 8-hydroperoxyicosatetraenoate (8-HPETE) and 12-hydroperoxyicosatetraenoate (12-HPETE). Furthermore, ALOX5 exhibits lipoxin synthase activity, converting (15S)-HETE into a conjugate tetraene. While arachidonate is the preferred substrate, this enzyme can metabolize oxidized fatty acids derived from arachidonate, such as (15S)-HETE, eicosapentaenoate (EPA) like (18R)- and (18S)-HEPE, or docosahexaenoate (DHA), leading to the formation of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) including lipoxin and resolvins E and D, respectively. Thus, ALOX5 participates in anti-inflammatory responses. Direct oxidation of DHA by ALOX5 inhibits endothelial cell proliferation and sprouting angiogenesis via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma). Notably, ALOX5 does not catalyze the oxygenation of linoleic acid and does not convert (5S)-HETE to lipoxin isomers. Beyond inflammatory processes, ALOX5 plays roles in dendritic cell migration, wound healing through an antioxidant mechanism based on heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) regulation expression, monocyte adhesion to the endothelium via ITGAM expression on monocytes. Moreover, it contributes to the establishment of adaptive humoral immunity by regulating primary resting B cells and follicular helper T cells and participates in the CD40-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after CD40 ligation in B cells through interaction with PIK3R1 that bridges ALOX5 with CD40. ALOX5 may also play a role in glucose homeostasis, regulation of insulin secretion, and palmitic acid-induced insulin resistance via AMPK. Additionally, it can regulate bone mineralization and fat cell differentiation increases in induced pluripotent stem cells.