This volume, the fourth in the series "The Prostagiandin System", contains most of the presentations at the International School of Pharmacology on "Drugs Effecting Leukotrienes and other Eicosanoid pathways" held in Erice, Sicily, at the "Ettore Majorana Center" on 9-20 September 1984. The discovery of a new class of biologically active compounds is always exciting even if at the present time knowledge is advancing very rapidly; this is particu1arly true for the eicosanoids. Evidence for a pivotal role of arachidonic acid as a precursor of mediators and modulators of various cell functions is now weil established. This broad knowledge has stimulated the search for drugs capable of interfering with the eicosanoid system and since the discovery of the mechanism of action of Aspirin, new drugs have become available in order to act more specifica11y not only at the level of different enzymes involved in arachidonic acid conversion but also more selectively at the receptor si tes where the acti ve metaboli tes are effecti ve. In addition to this, several stable synthetic derivatives of endogenous unstable prostanoids mimicking their functions in a variety of physiopatho19gical processes are also of potential therapeutic interest. This volume will certainly help scientists and students wi th different interests related to those diseases that stern from arachidonic acid metabolites interactions in hypersensitivity phenomena and in host defence mechanisms.

Klappentext

This volume, the fourth in the series "The Prostagiandin System", contains most of the presentations at the International School of Pharmacology on "Drugs Effecting Leukotrienes and other Eicosanoid pathways" held in Erice, Sicily, at the "Ettore Majorana Center" on 9-20 September 1984. The discovery of a new class of biologically active compounds is always exciting even if at the present time knowledge is advancing very rapidly; this is particu1arly true for the eicosanoids. Evidence for a pivotal role of arachidonic acid as a precursor of mediators and modulators of various cell functions is now weil established. This broad knowledge has stimulated the search for drugs capable of interfering with the eicosanoid system and since the discovery of the mechanism of action of Aspirin, new drugs have become available in order to act more specifica11y not only at the level of different enzymes involved in arachidonic acid conversion but also more selectively at the receptor si tes where the acti ve metaboli tes are effecti ve. In addition to this, several stable synthetic derivatives of endogenous unstable prostanoids mimicking their functions in a variety of physiopatho19gical processes are also of potential therapeutic interest. This volume will certainly help scientists and students wi th different interests related to those diseases that stern from arachidonic acid metabolites interactions in hypersensitivity phenomena and in host defence mechanisms.

Inhalt
Measurement of Thromboxane Production in vivo: Metabolic and Analytical Aspects.- High Pressure Liquid Chromatography-125J-Ria, a Sensitive and Specific Prostaglandin Assay.- Enzyme Immunoassays of Icosanoids Using Acetylcholinesterase.- Syntheses and Biological Effects of Leukotrienes and Analogs.- Pharmacologic Modulation of Leukotriene Biosynthesis by Incorporation of Alternative Unsaturated Fatty Acids (20:5 and 22:6).- Studies with Inhibitors of Leukotriene Biosynthesis with Special Reference to Piriprost (U-60,257).- Pulmonary and Vascular Effects of Leukotrienes; Involvement in Asthma and Inflammation.- Modulation of the Release of Leukotrienes and Prostaglandins and of their Functional Effects in Human and Guinea-Pig Lung Parenchyma.- Comparative Effects of Leukotrienes in Respiratory Tissue of Various Species.- The Effects of Low-Dose Aspirin and Selective Inhibitors of Thromboxane-Synthase on Eicosanoid Production in Man.- Manipulation of Pro-and Antiaggregating Prostaglandins: New Antithrombotic Strategies.- Flavonoids Lipoxygenases Platelet Aggregation.- Transformation of 15-Hydroperoxyeicosapentaenoic Acid Into Mono- and Dihydroxyeicosapentaenoic Acids by Human Platelets.- Metabolism of Arachidonic Acid by 12- and 15-Lipoxygenases in Human Platelets and Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes.- Epoxidation of Arachidonic Acid and Prostacyclin in the Kidney.- The Effect of 9 ? -Fluorohydrocortisone on the Urinary Excretion of 6-Keto-PGF1 in Man.- Prostacyclin in Therapy of Vascular Disease.- LTC4 Induces Hyperreactivity of the Isolated Vascular Tissue to Histamine, Serotonin and Norepinephrine.- Evidence for a Thromboxane Antagonist in Selected in vitro and in vivo Systems.- Precursor-Product. Relationship in Vascular Eicosanoid Formation after Manipulation ofDietary Fatty Acids in Experimental Animals.- Formation of Leukotrienes and other Eicosanoids in the Gastrointestinal Tract and Effect of Drugs.- Role of Eicosanoids in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.- Inhibition of 5'Lipoxygenase: Relevance to Inflammation.- The Role of Glucocorticoid-Induced Phospholipase Inhibitory Proteins.- Formation and Oxidative Degradation of Leukotrienes by Eosinophils and Neutrophils.- Eicosanoids and Cancer.- Stimulated Human Colonic Synthesis of Arachidonate Lipoxygenase and Cyclo-Oxygenase Products by Laxatives.- Correlation Between K+ Fluxes and the Arachidonic Acid Cascade in Human Leukocyte Stimulated with A-23187 or Melittin.