Fatty acid metabolism and the vascular endothelial cell. New thoughts about old data.

Fatty acid metabolism by vascular endothelial cells occurs both under basal conditions and following endothelial cell stimulation or injury. Under basal conditions, endothelial cells are metabolically very active and rapidly turn over triglycerides and synthesize 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid from linoleic acid via the cytosolic enzyme, omega 6-lipoxygenase. When endothelial cells are stimulated (or injured), these pathways are turned off, and, instead, arachidonic acid is liberated from the membrane phospholipids and metabolized into prostacyclin via the cyclooxygenase enzyme. The biological relevance of these two fatty acid metabolites is discussed in respect to the regulation of cell/cell interactions during both 'homeostasis' and 'injury'.