The lipoxygenases (LOs) are a family of nonheme iron dioxygenases that catalyse the insertion of molecular oxygen into polyunsaturated fatty acids. Five members of this gene family have been described in man, 5-LO, 12S-LO, 12R-LO, 15-LO and 15S-LO. Using partially purified recombinant 15S-LO enzyme and cells constitutively expressing this protein, we have compared the activity, substrate specificity, kinetic characteristics and regulation of this enzyme to that previously reported for 15-LO. 15S-LO has a threefold higher K m , similar V max and increased specificity of oxygenation for arachidonic acid, and a similar K m but decreased V max for linoleic acid in comparison to 15-LO. Unlike 15-LO, 15S-LO is not suicide inactivated by the products of fatty acid oxygenation. However, in common with other LOs, 15S-LO activity is regulated through calcium-dependent association of the enzyme with the membrane fraction of cells.In addition, whilst independently cloning the recently described 15S-LO, we identified a splice variant containing an in-frame 87-bp deletion corresponding to amino acids 401±429 inclusive. Modelling of the 15S-LO and subsequent studies with partially purified recombinant protein suggest that the deleted region comprises a complete a-helix flanking the active site of the enzyme resulting in decreased specificity of oxygenation and affinity for fatty acid substrates.Alternative splicing of 15S-LO would therefore provide a further level of regulation of fatty acid metabolism. These results demonstrate that there are substantial differences in the enzyme characteristics and regulation of the 15-LO isozymes which may reflect differing roles for the proteins in vivo. Although the LOs produce specific hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (HETE) enantiomers, the enzymes do not all display absolute positional specificity with respect to oxygenation of AA. For example, while 15-LOb exclusively oxygenates C15 of AA [8], 15-LOa oxygenates AA at both C15 and C12 [9]. In addition, the degree of homology between members of the LO family does not define the product profile. For example, amino acid sequence alignments demonstrate that 15-LOb is more closely related to 12R-LO than 15-LOa, suggesting complex evolutionary paths in the LO family.The LOs are responsible for the synthesis of a number of inflammatory mediators, including leukotrienes and lipoxins, which are implicated in inflammatory disorders such as bronchial asthma [10]. Lipoxygenase metabolites have also been implicated in a number of noninflammatory biological processes. For example, 12-HETE and 15-HETE have been implicated in tumour metastases and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, respectively [11,12]. The important biological roles of these LO metabolites and the complexity of substrate utilization by members of the LO family emphasize the importance of understanding factors which affect the activity and regulation of these enzymes.Overexpression and characterization of recombinant 5-LO, 12-LO and 15-LOa have been carried out allowing kinetic analysis...

The scaffolding protein and associated protease of the human herpesvirus varicella-zoster virus (VZV), encoded by genes 33n5 and 33 respectively, were synthesized in insect cells using a baculovirus expression system. The expressed 33n5 product formed numerous long, flexible, hollow rods, and in this respect differed from the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) homologue which forms large aggregates consisting mainly of fibrous material interspersed with scaffold-like particles. Removal of 27 amino acids from the carboxy terminus of the VZV scaffolding protein by the gene 33 protease or expression of the cleaved product did not result in any discernible change in the morphology of the scaffolding protein. Again, this was in marked contrast to the situation in HSV-1 where removal of the 25 carboxy-terminal amino acids from the