Herein we identify a logical link of the biochemistry to the genetics. eLOX3 functions as a hydroperoxide isomerase (epoxyalcohol synthase) by using the product of 12R-LOX as the preferred substrate. 12R-Hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12R-HPETE) is converted to 8R-hydroxy-11R,12R-epoxyeicosa-5Z,9E,14Z-trienoic acid, one of the isomers of hepoxilin A 3, and to 12-ketoeicosatetraenoic acid in a 2:1 ratio. Other hydroperoxides, including 8R-HPETE, 12S-HPETE, and 15S-HPETE, as well as the 13S-and 13R-hydroperoxides of linoleic acid are converted less efficiently. Mass spectrometric analysis of the epoxyalcohol formed from [ 18 O]15S-HPETE showed that both hydroperoxy oxygens are retained in the product. We propose that the ferrous form of eLOX3 initiates a redox cycle, unprecedented among LOX in being autocatalytic, in which the hydroperoxy substrate is isomerized to the epoxyalcohol or keto product. Our results provide strong biochemical evidence for a functional linkage of 12R-LOX and eLOX3 and clues into skin biochemistry and the etiology of ichthyosiform diseases in humans. L ipoxygenases (LOXs) are a family of nonheme ironcontaining enzymes that oxygenate unsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic acid to specific hydroperoxide products (1). These may be metabolized further to various bioactive lipid mediators including leukotrienes, lipoxins, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), and hepoxilins (2). Although LOX enzymes are catalytically active with free fatty acid substrates, some will also oxygenate esterified substrates such as the phospholipid or cholesterol esters. LOX metabolites play important roles in cell signaling or modification of membrane structures (1, 3).There are five active LOXs found in human beings: 5-LOX, 12S-LOX, 12R-LOX, 15-LOX-1, and 15-LOX-2. A sixth gene family member, epidermal LOX type 3 (eLOX3, gene symbol ALOXE3) was described first in the mouse (4), and in humans in 2001 (5). The amino acid sequence of human eLOX3 shows the closest similarity to 12R-LOX (54% identity) and 15-LOX-2 (51%). It contains the characteristic well conserved amino acid residues found in all LOXs including the putative iron-binding ligands and additional structure-determining residues. These features clearly indicate that eLOX3 belongs to the LOX gene family. The question of the catalytic activity of eLOX3, nonetheless, has remained elusive. No enzymatic activity has been detected by using linoleic or arachidonic acids, the prototypical C18 and C20 LOX substrates, nor with methyl arachidonate or cholesteryl arachidonate (4). In the first section of Results we confirm and extend these findings.Studies in humans and the mouse indicate that eLOX3 has a limited scope of tissue expression, being mainly confined to keratinized epithelia such as skin. From PCR evidence it seems to be coexpressed in tissues that express the 12R-LOX (5). A functional relationship to skin pathophysiology is strongly suggested by a recent genetic study reporting that eLOX3 or 12R-LOX are mutated in six families affected by nonbul...

The recent convergence of genetic and biochemical evidence on the activities of lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes has implicated the production of hepoxilin derivatives (fatty acid epoxyalcohols) in the pathways leading to formation of the water‐impermeable barrier of the outer epidermis. The enzymes 12R‐LOX and eLOX3 are mutated in a rare form of congenital ichthyosis, and, in vitro, the two enzymes function together to convert arachidonic acid to a specific hepoxilin. Taken together, these lines of evidence suggest an involvement of these enzymes and their products in skin barrier function in all normal subjects. The natural occurrence of the specific hepoxilin products, and their biological role, whether structural or signaling, remain to be defined.

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Arachidonic acid can be transformed into a specific epoxyalcohol product via the sequential action of two epidermal lipoxygenases, 12R-LOX and eLOX3. Functional impairment of either lipoxygenase gene (ALOX12B or ALOXE3) results in ichthyosis, suggesting a role for the common epoxyalcohol product or its metabolites in the differentiation of normal human skin. Here we tested the ability of products derived from the epidermal LOX pathway to activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors PPARalpha, gamma, and delta, which have been implicated in epidermal differentiation. Using a dual luciferase reporter assay in PC3 cells, the 12R-LOX/eLOX3-derived epoxyalcohol, 8R-hydroxy-11R,12R-epoxyeicosa-5Z,9E,14Z-trienoic acid, activated PPARalpha with similar in potency to the known natural ligand, 8S-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (8S-HETE) (both at 10 microM concentration). In contrast, the PPARgamma and PPARdelta receptor isoforms were not activated by the epoxyalcohol. Activation of PPARalpha was also observed using the trihydroxy hydrolysis products (trioxilins) of the unstable epoxyalcohol. Of the four trioxilins isolated and characterized, the highest activation was observed with the isomer that is also formed by enzymatic hydrolysis of the epoxyalcohol. Formation of a ligand for the nuclear receptor PPARalpha may be one possibility by which 12R-LOX and eLOX3 contribute to epidermal differentiation.