5-Lipoxygenase and cysteinyl leukotriene receptors in neuroinflammation and neuronal injury

Brian ischemic injury and central neurodegenerative diseases as leading contributors to disability and death have become a majorclinical and public health concern worldwide.Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathological progression of cerebral ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson disease(PD).Therefore,it is important to find effective therapeutic targets to attenuate inflammation and delay the progression of brain injury.Cysteinyl leukotrienes(CysLTs) are potent inflammatory mediators synthesized from arachidonic acid by 5-lipoxygenase(5-LOX) in the central nervous system.Two distinct G-protein-coupled receptors,CysLT1 R and CysLT2 R,mediate most of the known CysLTs biological responses.Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that postischemic inflammation and neuronal loss are mediated by 5-LOX and CysLTRs fol owing focal cerebral ischemia.We recently reported that the expression of 5-LOX,CysLT1R and inflammatory vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) was upregulated in the hippocampus of rats with transient global cerebral ischemia,which was closely associated with delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 area.5-LOX inhibitor zileuton,CysLT1R antagonist ONO-1078 and montelukast dose-dependently reduced hippocampal CA1 neuronal death and inhibited the increased expression of 5-LOX and VCAM-1.In vitro ischemia-like injury in 5-LOXtransfected PC12 cells,oxygen-glucose deprivation(OGD) induced cell death mediated by5-LOX via ROS/P38 MAPK pathway.The nonselective 5-LOX inhibitor caffeic acid inhibited OGDstimulated activation of 5-LOX and ROS/P38 MAPK signaling and improved neuronal survival.In PD model,high concentrations of rotenone caused directly PC12 neurotoxicity,which was modulated by 5-LOX and abolished by suppression of 5-LOX.It is well known that microglia is major modulators of inflammatory response after brain injury.Overactivated microglia and production of proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α contribute to the neuroinflammation and brain injury.5-LOX,CysLT1R and CysLT2R are involved in microglial activation and resultant neurotoxic responses.It has been found that low concentrations of rotenone can activate 5-LOX and CysLT1R on microglial cells to enhance microglial inflammation and microglia-dependent neuronal death in vitro.5-LOX inhibitor zileuton and CysLT1R antagonist montelukast protected neurons from microglia-dependent rotenone neurotoxicity.Furthermore,lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced microglial activation and microglial neurotoxicity mediated by CysLT2R in vitro.Both pharmacological blockade(CysLT2R antagonist HAMI3379) and RNA interference(specific short hairpin RNA) of CysLT2 R significantly attenuated LPS-triggered microglial inflammation and subsequent neuronal death.Collectively,the present results indicate the role of 5-LOX and CysLTRs in neuroinflammation and brain injury.Modulation of 5-LOX and CysLTRs may be potential therapeutic approaches for inflammation-related brain disorders such as cerebral ischemia and PD.However,further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the regulation of neuinflammatory processes by 5-LOX and CysLTRs.