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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–5Cite as

5-Lipoxygenase

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Synonyms

5-LO; 5-LOX; Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase

Definition

5-LOX is a nonheme iron dioxygenase that catalyzes the synthesis of a broad class of compounds, known as leukotrienes (LT), lipoxins, resolvins, and protectins.

Characteristics

In human beings, this enzyme is encoded by the Alox5 gene (Chromosome 10, Location 10q11.2).

Its substrates belong to the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) family, mainly the ω-3 and ω-6, where 5-LOX inserts O2 in a regional-specific fashion.

From the ω-6 arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6), the proinflammatory LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, LTE4, and lipoxins are formed; the anti-inflammatory LTB5, LTC5, LTD5, LTE5, and E-series resolvins derive from the ω-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3); from the ω-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), protectins and D-series resolvins are synthesized. Notwithstanding, the inflammatory or anti-inflammatory nature of these compounds is currently under revision, due to emerging contradictory role of 5-LOX products in both...

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References

  • Banerjee S, Tuncay S (2006) ALOX5 (Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase) Atlas of genetics and cytogenetics in oncology and hematology. http://AtlasGeneticsOncology.org/Genes/ALOX5ID42985ch10q11.html

  • Funk CD, Hoshiko S, Matsumoto T, Radmark O, Samuelsson B (1989) Characterization of the human 5-lipoxygenase gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 86:2587–2591

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  • Tavolari S, Bonafè M, Marini M, Ferreri C, Bartolini G, Brighenti E, Manara S, Tomasi V, Laufer S, Guarnieri T (2008) Licofelone, a dual COX/5-LOX inhibitor, induces apoptosis in HCA-7 colon cancer cells through the mitochondrial pathway independently from its ability to affect the arachidonic acid cascade. Carcinogenesis 29:371–380

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  • Zhang Z, Chen CQ, Manev H (2004) DNA methylation as an epigenetic regulator of neural 5-lipoxygenase expression: evidence in human NT2 and NT2-N cells. J Neurochem 88:1424–1430

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Via Francesco Selmi, 3, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Tiziana Guarnieri

Authors
  1. Tiziana Guarnieri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiziana Guarnieri .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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Guarnieri, T. (2014). 5-Lipoxygenase. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3390-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3390-6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

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