Lipoxins : regulators of resolution

Persistent inflammation underlies many of the most prevalent diseases in the developed world including atherosclerosis and diabetes. There is a growing appreciation that inflammation and its active resolution may be modulated by endogenously produced lipid mediators. Preeminent amongst these mediators are the lipoxins [LX]. The acronym lipoxin describes the provenance of these mediators: lipoxygenase interacting products . The LX are eicosanoids and display both anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving bioactions. More recently other pro-resolving lipid mediators have been described including the resolvins and neuroprotectins. In effective host defence LX biosynthesis is characterised by a switch from pro-inflammatory prostaglandin and leukotriene (LT) generation from arachidonic acid (AA) to LX production coincident with a return to tissue homeostasis ( see figure 1). Here we will provide an overview of LX pharmacokinetics, bioactions and summarise the evidence to date that indicates that LX are potential therapeutic agents for disorders involving cardiovascular and renal inflammation, leading to tissue damage and organ fibrosis.