On the positional specificity of 15-lipoxygenase

The lipoxygenases comprise a family of fatty acid dioxygenases that are involved in a variety of inflammatory conditions. Various approaches have been taken in order to understand the different regiospecificities of the different lipoxygenases. Here we have reviewed the current knowledge of the structural features of the substrate and of the enzyme that form the basis of the regiospecificity of 15-lipoxygenase. Earlier experiments on the structural features of the substrate were reviewed, as well as more recent results of site-directed mutagenesis studies. The structure of the soybean lipoxygenase isoform-1 was also briefly reviewed.