| Levuglandins: finding lipid superglue in vivo
Robert G. Salomon writes, in part: "Curiosity-driven basic research on the chemistry of PGH2, the endoperoxide intermediate in the biosynthesis of prostaglandins, uncovered a novel nonenzymatic rearrangement that produces levulinic aldehyde derivatives with prostanoid side chains that we named levuglandins, LGE2 and LGD2. Detecting these oxidized lipids in vivo is complicated by their proclivity to stick like superglue to proteins within seconds. They form pyrroles that incorporate the ε-amino group of lysyl residues and generate DNA–protein or protein–protein crosslinks within minutes." |  |