BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

The two faces of LTA4H

LTA4H's pro- and anti-inflammatory effects call for inhibitor selectivity

December 3, 2015 8:00 AM UTC

Although the enzyme LTA4H has long been considered a driver of inflammatory diseases, companies have yet to create an inhibitor that succeeds in the clinic beyond Phase II. That could be due to a secondary, underappreciated, anti-inflammatory activity of the enzyme, according to researchers at Imperial College London, who are working on new compounds designed to selectively inhibit the target's inflammatory function.

LTA4H is most commonly known for generating the pro-inflammatory leukotriene LTB4, which it produces via its epoxide hydrolase activity, and which has been linked to inflammation in diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF), colitis and psoriasis...