omega-Hydroxylation of 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid by lung microsomes from pregnant rabbits.

15-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) was converted by lung microsomes from pregnant rabbits to a polar metabolite that was identified by mass spectrometry as the 15,20-dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. The formation of the 20- or omega-hydroxylated product was NADPH dependent, with a specific activity of 1.87 +/- 0.53 nmol/min/mg of microsomal protein. Other hydroxylated derivatives of eicosatetraenoic acid that possessed hydroxy groups at the 5- and 12-carbon atoms were not metabolized by the lung microsomes. This hydroxylation of 15-HETE was observed in lung microsomes of pregnant rabbits and only minor amounts were formed by nonpregnant rabbits. The specific activity for 15-HETE omega-hydroxylation was similar to the value obtained for prostaglandin E1 (1.48 +/- 0.33 nmol/min/mg). It is known that rabbit lungs possess a cytochrome P-450 that is induced during pregnancy and catalyzes the 20-hydroxylation of prostaglandins. The addition of the antibody to cytochrome P-450 prostaglandin omega-hydroxylase or prostaglandin E1, a substrate of this enzyme, resulted in potent inhibition of 15-HETE omega-hydroxylation, providing strong evidence that a common cytochrome P-450 catalyzes the omega-hydroxylation of both prostaglandins and 15-HETE.