Hepoxilins in cancer and inflammation--use of hepoxilin antagonists

Cancer is often accompanied with inflammatory, thrombotic, and diabetic complications. Alternatively, chronic inflammation is believed to be a causative factor in several cancers. This review article brings together reported biological actions in these areas of the unstable naturally derived hepoxilins (HX), metabolites of arachidonic acid formed through the 12-LO pathway, and those of their synthetically derived stable HX antagonists (PBT; proprietary bioactive therapeutics). Although the HX pathway has been known for some three decades since its discovery by the author with much data originating from the author's laboratory, studies by others over the past few years have confirmed early findings of the actions of HX as potent pro-inflammatory chemoattractant mediators and further showed HX to be involved in bacterial infection (Salmonella-induced intestinal inflammation and in bone inflammation caused by infection with the Lyme bacterium). The HX pathway appears to be an important early signal leading to inflammation. This provides important therapeutic potential for the PBTs as the only available selective antagonists of this pathway. The PBTs have shown benefit and efficacy in animal models of cancer and inflammation, which together with their known actions as anti-thrombotic (thromboxane (TPα) receptor antagonists) and hypoglycemic agents in vivo appears to make the PBTs suitable as therapeutics to control these disorders. The PBT structure is both stable in vivo and is essentially devoid of side effects in the animal models tested. The PBT structure serves as an important platform for selective HX and TX antagonists.