Biology and Total Synthesis of n-3 Docosapentaenoic Acid-Derived Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators

Research over the last 25 years related to structural elucidations and biological investigations of the specialized pro-resolving mediators has spurred great interest in targeting these endogenous products in total synthesis. These lipid mediators govern the resolution of inflammation as potent and stereoselective agonists toward individual G-protein-coupled receptors, resulting in potent anti-inflammatory activities demonstrated in many human disease models. Specialized pro-resolving mediators are oxygenated polyunsaturated products formed in stereoselective and distinct biosynthetic pathways initiated by various lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase enzymes. In this review, the reported stereoselective total synthesis and biological activities of the specialized pro-resolving mediators biosynthesized from the polyunsaturated fatty acid n-3 docosapentaenoic acid are presented.