Sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids – The “ying and yang” of lipotoxicity in metabolic diseases

Publication date: Available online 16 January 2017 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): S. Rodriguez-Cuenca, V. Pellegrinelli, M. Campbell, M. Oresic, A. Vidal-Puig Sphingolipids in general and ceramides in particular, contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms by modifying signalling and metabolic pathways. Here, we present the available evidence for a bidirectional homeostatic crosstalk between sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids, whose dysregulation contributes to lipotoxicity induced metabolic stress. The initial evidence for this crosstalk originates from simulated models designed to investigate the biophysical properties of sphingolipids in plasma membrane representations. In this review, we reinterpret some of the original findings and conceptualise them as a sort of “ying/yang” interaction model of opposed/complementary forces, which is consistent with the current knowledge of lipid homeostasis and pathophysiology. We also propose that the dysregulation of the balance between sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids results in a lipotoxic insult relevant in the pathophysiology of common metabolic diseases, typically characterised by their increased ceramide/sphingosine pools.

Source: Progress in Lipid Research - January 16, 2017 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research