Photoactivation of an inhibitor of the 12/15-lipoxygenase pathway.

Lipoxygenases are lipid-peroxidizing enzymes that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and lipoxygenase inhibitors may be developed as anti-inflammatory drugs. Structure comparison with known lipoxygenase inhibitors has suggested that (2Z)-2-(3-benzylidene)-3-oxo-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene-7-carboxylic acid methyl ester might inhibit the lipoxygenase pathway but we found that it exhibited only a low inhibitory potency for the pure 12/15-lipoxygenase (IC(50) = 0.7 mM).