THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF LIPOXYGENASE

Lipoxygenases are non-heme iron enzymes that catalyze the dioxygenatio n of polyunsaturated fatty acids, yielding hydroperoxides. The first c rystal structures have recently been published, revealing an unusual i ron site. There have also been substantial developments in the analysi s of the kinetics of the reaction, including the observation of unique ly large primary deuterium isotope effects. Exploitation of these resu lts should enable substantial progress in understanding what appears t o be a complicated and fascinating chemical mechanism.