ECS modulator (research)
EndogenousLXA4Lipoxin A4
(5S,6R,7E,9E,11Z,13E,15S)-5,6,15-trihydroxyicosa-7,9,11,13-tetraenoic acid
Aliases.Lipoxin A4 · LXA4
Endogenous anti-inflammatory eicosanoid, described as a positive allosteric modulator of CB1.
Updated on
Level of detail
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₀H₃₂O₅
- Molar mass
- 352.50 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- -
- PubChem CID
- 5280914
- First described
- Décrite en 1984 par Charles N. Serhan, Mats Hamberg et Bengt Samuelsson, au Karolinska Institutet, dans un article des PNAS identifiant une nouvelle série de trihydroxytétraènes formés à partir de l'acide arachidonique par les leucocytes humains. Le rapprochement avec le récepteur CB1 est bien plus tardif : il est proposé en 2012 par l'équipe de Fabricio A. Pamplona et Reinaldo N. Takahashi, également dans les PNAS.
- Origin
- An entirely endogenous molecule, absent from cannabis. It is produced by the cells of the human and animal organism at sites of inflammation, notably through cooperation between neutrophils, platelets and epithelial cells. It is extracted from no plant and is not found in hemp-based products.
- InChIKey
- IXAQOQZEOGMIQS-SSQFXEBMSA-N
In plain terms
Lipoxin A4 is a small fatty molecule that the human body makes itself from a fatty acid present in its cells. Its known role is to help the organism calm an inflammation once it has played its defensive part. It does not come from hemp and enters into no CBD product; work merely suggests that it might strengthen the action of a natural messenger of the brain, anandamide.
Receptors and activity
- CB1Ki orthostérique > 10 µM (déplacement maximal de 40 % du radioligand SR141716A) ; en présence de lipoxine A4, l'IC50 de l'anandamide au site de haute affinité du CB1 passe de 17 nM à 2 nM (Pamplona et al., PNAS 2012)Modulator
- ALX/FPR2Agonist
- Agonist
- Partial agonist
- Antagonist
- Modulator
- Inverse agonist
Hover over a row for the precise value (Ki, EC50…)
Subjective signature
Hover over an axis to read its definition.
- Calm10
- Clarity5
- Sleep5
- Appetite5
- High5
Editorial estimate, not clinical.
Pharmacology
Lipoxin A4 belongs to the lipid mediators known as pro-resolving, whose function is to extinguish an inflammatory reaction rather than to trigger it. Its own receptor is ALX/FPR2, at which it restrains the recruitment of neutrophils and steers macrophages towards a reparative profile. The link with the endocannabinoid system rests on a 2012 PNAS publication: lipoxin A4, detected in brain tissue, does not occupy the orthosteric site of CB1 but increases the affinity of anandamide for this receptor, without modifying FAAH activity or brain endocannabinoid levels. The authors describe a selective potentiation of anandamide, markedly weaker with 2-AG or with a full agonist, as well as a CB1-dependent protective effect against a spatial memory deficit induced by beta-amyloid peptide in mice. This conclusion has not been reproduced everywhere: in a neuronal model of endocannabinoid signalling based on autaptic hippocampal neurons, lipoxin A4 produced no potentiation and even behaved as a negative modulator with respect to 2-AG. Its status as a positive allosteric modulator of CB1 therefore remains a debated hypothesis, supported by a limited body of work. On this cannabinoid side, human data are entirely lacking.
Key sources.
- Pamplona FA, Ferreira J, Menezes de Lima O Jr, et al. Anti-inflammatory lipoxin A4 is an endogenous allosteric enhancer of CB1 cannabinoid receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(51):21134-21139.PMID 23150578
- Pertwee RG. Lipoxin A4 is an allosteric endocannabinoid that strengthens anandamide-induced CB1 receptor activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(51):20781-20782.PMID 23204441
- Straiker A, Mitjavila J, Yin D, Gibson A, Mackie K. Aiming for allosterism: evaluation of allosteric modulators of CB1 in a neuronal model. Pharmacol Res. 2015;99:370-376.PMID 26211948
- Serhan CN, Hamberg M, Samuelsson B. Lipoxins: novel series of biologically active compounds formed from arachidonic acid in human leukocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1984;81(17):5335-5339.PMID 6089195
- Clish CB, Levy BD, Chiang N, Tai HH, Serhan CN. Oxidoreductases in lipoxin A4 metabolic inactivation. J Biol Chem. 2000;275(33):25372-25380.PMID 10837478
- Wu SH, Chen XQ, Liu B, Wu HJ, Dong L. Efficacy and safety of 15(R/S)-methyl-lipoxin A4 in topical treatment of infantile eczema. Br J Dermatol. 2013;168(1):172-178.PMID 22834636
- ChEBI:6498 Lipoxin A4 (European Bioinformatics Institute)
- PubChem CID 5280914, Lipoxin A4 (NCBI)
Origin (research tool)
Formed from arachidonic acid by so-called transcellular pathways, in which two cell types share the steps. A first scheme couples leucocyte 5-lipoxygenase, which produces leukotriene A4, with platelet 12-lipoxygenase, which converts it into a lipoxin. A second scheme proceeds through epithelial 15-lipoxygenase and then leucocyte 5-lipoxygenase. A third pathway, triggered by aspirin, acetylates cyclooxygenase 2 and leads to the more stable 15-epi-lipoxin A4 epimer.
Legal framework
France
Lipoxin A4 is an endogenous substance, naturally present in the human organism. It is named in no annex of the decree of 22 February 1990 setting the list of substances classified as narcotics. Nor is it targeted by the generic clause of annex IV, which covers only tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers and salts as well as the salts of these derivatives: lipoxin A4 is neither a tetrahydrocannabinol nor a derivative of that type. It is therefore not a narcotic in France. It moreover holds no marketing authorisation as a medicine, nor any authorisation as a food ingredient, and its circulation is confined to laboratory reagent use and research.
European Union
No member state classifies lipoxin A4 as a narcotic and it appears in no schedule of the international conventions of 1961 and 1971. It has been the subject of neither a risk assessment by the EUDA (formerly the EMCDDA) nor a control measure under the European framework on new psychoactive substances, which is consistent with its endogenous character and the absence of recreational use. In the Union it remains a research compound: no medicine or novel food authorisation has been granted. Only stabilised analogues have been evaluated in humans, within a very limited clinical setting.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Structural classification
- Class
- ECS modulator (research)
- Origin
- An entirely endogenous molecule, absent from cannabis. It is produced by the cells of the human and animal organism at sites of inflammation, notably through cooperation between neutrophils, platelets and epithelial cells. It is extracted from no plant and is not found in hemp-based products.
- Status
- Endogenous
Eicosanoïde trihydroxylé de la famille des lipoxines : acide gras en C20 issu de l'acide arachidonique, portant trois groupes hydroxyle (positions 5, 6 et 15) et un motif tétraène conjugué. Sa structure n'a aucun rapport avec le squelette terpénophénolique des cannabinoïdes végétaux.
Pharmacokinetics
La lipoxine A4 se comporte comme un autacoïde local : elle est produite sur place, agit à très faible concentration sur les cellules voisines, puis disparaît rapidement. Sa durée de vie biologique est courte, ce qui limite fortement son intérêt comme molécule administrée et explique le développement d'analogues stabilisés, dont la 15-épi-lipoxine A4 et des dérivés méthylés en position 15. Aucune donnée d'absorption orale, de distribution ou d'élimination chez l'humain n'est disponible pour la molécule native.
Metabolism
L'inactivation commence par l'oxydation de l'hydroxyle en position 15 par la 15-hydroxyprostaglandine déshydrogénase, qui donne la 15-oxo-lipoxine A4. Ce métabolite est ensuite réduit sur la double liaison 13,14 par la 15-oxoprostaglandine 13-réductase, également connue comme leucotriène B4 12-hydroxydéshydrogénase, pour former la 13,14-dihydro-15-oxo-lipoxine A4 puis la 13,14-dihydro-lipoxine A4. Ces produits sont dépourvus de l'activité de la molécule d'origine. Des travaux plus récents attribuent au métabolite 15-oxo une activité anti-inflammatoire propre, indépendante du récepteur FPR2.
Toxicology and risks
Molécule endogène présente à l'état physiologique, la lipoxine A4 n'a pas de profil toxicologique établi au sens des substances consommées. Elle n'est pas ingérée, ne fait l'objet d'aucun usage récréatif documenté et aucun signalement d'intoxication ne lui est associé. Le seul recul clinique porte sur des analogues stabilisés : un essai contrôlé contre placebo dans l'eczéma du nourrisson a rapporté une bonne tolérance locale d'un analogue méthylé, sans événement indésirable ni anomalie des paramètres de sécurité. Ces données restent trop restreintes pour caractériser une sécurité d'emploi, et aucun effet indésirable systémique n'est documenté pour la molécule native.
Detection and analysis
Le dosage relève de la lipidomique et non de la toxicologie médico-légale : la lipoxine A4 se mesure par chromatographie liquide couplée à la spectrométrie de masse en tandem, sur plasma, lavage broncho-alvéolaire, exsudat inflammatoire ou tissu, avec des étalons internes deutérés. Aucune méthode de dépistage réglementaire, routier ou professionnel ne la recherche, et elle n'interfère avec aucun test cannabinoïde usuel.
References
- 1.Pamplona FA, Ferreira J, Menezes de Lima O Jr, et al. Anti-inflammatory lipoxin A4 is an endogenous allosteric enhancer of CB1 cannabinoid receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(51):21134-21139.PMID 23150578
- 2.Pertwee RG. Lipoxin A4 is an allosteric endocannabinoid that strengthens anandamide-induced CB1 receptor activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(51):20781-20782.PMID 23204441
- 3.Straiker A, Mitjavila J, Yin D, Gibson A, Mackie K. Aiming for allosterism: evaluation of allosteric modulators of CB1 in a neuronal model. Pharmacol Res. 2015;99:370-376.PMID 26211948
- 4.Serhan CN, Hamberg M, Samuelsson B. Lipoxins: novel series of biologically active compounds formed from arachidonic acid in human leukocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1984;81(17):5335-5339.PMID 6089195
- 5.Clish CB, Levy BD, Chiang N, Tai HH, Serhan CN. Oxidoreductases in lipoxin A4 metabolic inactivation. J Biol Chem. 2000;275(33):25372-25380.PMID 10837478
- 6.Wu SH, Chen XQ, Liu B, Wu HJ, Dong L. Efficacy and safety of 15(R/S)-methyl-lipoxin A4 in topical treatment of infantile eczema. Br J Dermatol. 2013;168(1):172-178.PMID 22834636
- 7.ChEBI:6498 Lipoxin A4 (European Bioinformatics Institute)
- 8.PubChem CID 5280914, Lipoxin A4 (NCBI)
Structured data
- InChIKey
- IXAQOQZEOGMIQS-SSQFXEBMSA-N
- SMILES
- CCCCC[C@@H](/C=C/C=C\C=C\C=C\[C@H]([C@H](CCCC(=O)O)O)O)O
- Formula
- C20H32O5
- Molar mass
- 352.50 g·mol⁻¹
- PubChem CID
- 5280914
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.