Lipids play critical roles in several major chronic diseases of our times, including those that involve inflammatory sequelae such as metabolic syndrome including obesity, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular diseases. However, defining the substrate specificity of enzymes of lipid metabolism is a challenging task. For example, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes constitute a superfamily of degradative, biosynthetic, and signaling enzymes that all act stereospecifically to hydrolyze and release the fatty acids of membrane phospholipids.
Lipids play critical roles in several major chronic diseases of our times, including those that involve inflammatory sequelae such as metabolic syndrome including obesity, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular diseases. However, defining the substrate specificity of enzymes of lipid metabolism is a challenging task. For example, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes constitute a superfamily of degradative, biosynthetic, and signaling enzymes that all act stereospecifically to hydrolyze and release the fatty acids of membrane phospholipids.
