Arachidonic Acid Cascade in Inflammation
In the arachidonic acid cascade, dietary linoleic acid (18:2 ω-6) is desaturated and lengthened to form arachidonic acid, esterified into the phospholipid fats in the cell membrane. Next, in response to many inflammatory stimuli, phospholipase is generated and cleaves this fat, releasing AA as a free fatty acid. AA can then be oxygenated and then further modified to form eicosanoids – autocrine and paracrine agents that bind receptors on the cell or its neighbors. Alternatively, AA can diffuse into the cell nucleus and interact with transcription factors to control DNA transcription for cytokines or other hormones.
Read more about this topic: Essential Fatty Acid Interactions
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