ABSTRACT
Inammation begins as a protective response to injury or infection and involves the mobilization of a series of local mediators and inammatory cells. Among the molecules involved in the rst line of the inammatory response are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) released from local membrane phospholipids. As a result of their high degree of unsaturation, PUFA undergo facile free-radical oxidation with local reactive oxygen species to form lipid oxidation products. More importantly, PUFA also serve as endogenous substrates to oxygenases and associated enzymes that transform them into potent lipid mediators that are key players in the initiation, progression, and resolution of inammation.
