Injection of 5- and 12-lipoxygenase produced hyperalgesia that was not antagonized by inhibitors of PKA, PKCepsilon or MAPK.These findings suggest that: (1). lipoxygenase products of arachidonic acid function as second messengers in the peripheral hyperalgesia induced by agents that act directly on primary afferent nociceptors (epinephrine and prostaglandin E(2)), (2). products of the 5-lipoxygenase and 12-lipoxygenase pathway are involved in this function, and (3). these lipoxygenase products contribute to hyperalgesia at or downstream of protein kinase A and PKCepsilon.