Renal tubular arachidonic acid metabolism

Arachidonic acid and its metabolites play important roles in renal tubular function. This overview will review general characteristics of arachidonic acid metabolism, focus on the characterization and regulation of renal acylhydrolases that generate arachidonic acid from phospholipids, examine what is known about the production of arachidonic acid metabolites along the nephron, and explore what the potential roles of these metabolites are in physiological and pathophysiological states. Due to space limitations it is not possible to review this extensive topic including the glomerulus as well as the rest of the nephron, renal interstitium, and vasculature. Since this monograph is focused upon the tubulointerstitium, we will not discuss the various aspects of arachidonic acid metabolism in the glomerulus but only refer to glomerular cells when a mechanism pertinent to the tubulointerstitium is best illustrated by work done on a glomerular cell