This concept explains the arachidonic acid pathway of inflammation, in which membrane phospholipids are cleaved by phospholipase A2 to release arachidonic acid, which is then metabolized by cyclooxygenase into prostaglandins, prostacyclin, and thromboxane, or by lipoxygenase into leukotrienes. It belongs to pharmacology and inflammatory physiology, establishing the mechanistic basis for how anti-inflammatory drug classes (corticosteroids, NSAIDs, leukotriene antagonists) act by inhibiting specific enzymes or receptors within this cascade. The core principle is that each drug class targets a distinct enzymatic or receptor step in this shared biochemical pathway to modulate inflammation.
This concept explains the arachidonic acid pathway of inflammation, in which membrane phospholipids are cleaved by phospholipase A2 to release arachidonic acid, which is then metabolized by cyclooxyg…