Inflammation: arachidonic acid metabolites: practice question

The best answer is A, Cysteinyl leukotrienes LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4. Aspirin irreversibly inhibits cyclooxygenase, so arachidonic acid is diverted to the 5-lipoxygenase pathway.

Thromboxane A2 is also a cyclooxygenase product, and aspirin reduces its platelet synthesis.

Prostacyclin is a cyclooxygenase product, so aspirin decreases it.

Prostaglandin E2 is reduced by cyclooxygenase inhibition, and its loss removes a bronchodilating effect.

It tests Inflammation: arachidonic acid metabolites in Pathology. The excess cysteinyl leukotrienes cause bronchoconstriction, mucus secretion and increased vascular permeability. Loss of the protective bronchodilator prostaglandin E2 contributes, and leukotriene receptor antagonists such as montelukast are useful.

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

Learn each disease as a bundle: cause, key histology, markers, and the clinical hallmark. Then use the flashcards and the other Pathology questions on this site to test what stuck.

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.