Lipoxins and their relationship with inflammation-associated diseases. A systematic review

Abstract

Aim: To determine the relationship of lipoxin levels with inflammation and disease development in adults and children.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review. The search strategy included Medline, Ovid, EMBASE, LILACS, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Open Gray. We included Clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies. Animal experiments were excluded.

Results: We included fourteen studies in this review, nine consistently showing decreased lipoxin levels and anti-inflammatory markers or increased pro-inflammatory markers in cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, periodontitis, or autism. Five studies showed increased lipoxin levels and pro-inflammatory markers in pre-eclampsia, asthma, and coronary disease. On the other hand, one showed increased lipoxin levels and decreased pro-inflammatory marker levels.

Conclusions: Decreases in lipoxins are associated with developing pathologies such as cardiovascular and neurological diseases, indicating that lipoxins protect against these pathologies. However, in other pathologies, such as asthma, pre-eclampsia, and periodontitis, which are associated with chronic inflammation despite increased levels of LXA₄, the increase in inflammation suggests a possible failure of this regulatory pathway. Therefore, further studies are necessary to evaluate the role of LXA4 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: Cardiovascular; Inflammation; LXA4; Lipoxins; Neurological.