Choline kinase alpha —Putting the ChoK-hold on tumor metabolism
Publication date: July 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research, Volume 63 Author(s): Sean P. Arlauckas, Anatoliy V. Popov, E. James Delikatny It is well established that lipid metabolism is drastically altered during tumor development and response to therapy. Choline kinase alpha (ChoKα) is a key mediator of these changes, as it represents the first committed step in the Kennedy pathway of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and ChoKα expression is upregulated in many human cancers. ChoKα activity is associated with drug resistant, metastatic, and malignant phenotypes, and represents a robust biomarker and therape...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - July 20, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Plant acyl-CoA-binding proteins: An emerging family involved in plant development and stress responses
Publication date: Available online 29 June 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Zhi-Yan Du, Tatiana Arias, Wei Meng, Mee-Len Chye Acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP) was first identified in mammals as a neuropeptide, and was demonstrated to belong to an important house-keeping protein family that extends across eukaryotes and some prokaryotes. In plants, the Arabidopsis ACBP family consists of six AtACBPs (AtACBP1 to AtACBP6), and has been investigated using gene knock-out mutants and overexpression lines. Herein, recent findings on the AtACBPs are examined to provide an insight on their functions in v...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - June 30, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Engineering and Application of Enzymes for Lipid Modification, an Update
Publication date: Available online 11 June 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Katja Zorn, Isabel Oroz-Guinea, Henrike Brundiek, Uwe T. Bornscheuer This review first provides a brief introduction into the most important tools and strategies for protein engineering (i.e. directed evolution and rational protein design combined with high-throughput screening methods) followed by examples from literature, in which enzymes have been optimized for biocatalytic applications. This covers engineered lipases with altered fatty acid chain length selectivity, fatty acid specificity and improved performance in...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - June 11, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Fatty Acylation of Proteins: The Long and the Short of it
Publication date: Available online 24 May 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Marilyn D. Resh Long, short and medium chain fatty acids are covalently attached to hundreds of proteins. Each fatty acid confers distinct biochemical properties, enabling fatty acylation to regulate intracellular trafficking, subcellular localization, protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. Myristate and palmitate represent the most common fatty acid modifying groups. New insights into how fatty acylation reactions are catalyzed, and how fatty acylation regulates protein structure and function continue to emerge. Myri...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - May 24, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Global survey of the omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in the blood stream of healthy adults
Publication date: Available online 20 May 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Ken D. Stark, Mary E. Van Elswyk, M. Roberta Higgins, Charli A. Weatherford, Norman Salem Studies reporting blood levels of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), were systematically identified in order to create a global map identifying countries and regions with different blood levels. Included studies were those of healthy adults, published in 1980 or later. A total of 298 studies met all inclusion criteria. Studies reported fatty acids in various blood f...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - May 20, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
The Enigma Of Ceramide Synthase Regulation In Mammalian Cells
Publication date: Available online 13 May 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Marthe-Susanna Wegner, Susanne Schiffmann, Michael John Parnham, Gerd Geisslinger, Sabine Grösch Ceramide synthases (CerS) are key enzymes in the lipid metabolism of eukaryotic cells. Their products, ceramides (Cer), are components of cellular membranes but also mediate signaling functions in physiological processes such as proliferation, skin barrier function and cerebellar development. In pathophysiological processes such as multiple sclerosis and tumor progression, ceramide levels are altered, which can be ascribed...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - May 13, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Mechanism of fat taste perception: Association with diet and obesity
Publication date: July 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research, Volume 63 Author(s): Dongli Liu, Nicholas Archer, Konsta Duesing, Garry Hannan, Russell Keast Energy homeostasis plays a significant role in food consumption and body weight regulation with fat intake being an area of particular interest due to its palatability and high energy density. Increasing evidence from humans and animal studies indicate the existence of a taste modality responsive to fat via its breakdown product fatty acids. These studies implicate multiple candidate receptors and ion channels for fatty acid taste detection, indicating a ...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - May 5, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Isoprenoid generating systems in plants — A handy toolbox how to assess contribution of the mevalonate and methylerythritol phosphate pathways to the biosynthetic process
Publication date: Available online 29 April 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Agata Lipko, Ewa Swiezewska Isoprenoids comprise an astonishingly diverse group of metabolites with numerous potential and actual applications in medicine, agriculture and the chemical industry. Generation of efficient platforms producing isoprenoids is a target of numerous laboratories. Such efforts are generally enhanced if the native biosynthetic routes can be identified, and if the regulatory mechanisms responsible for the biosynthesis of the compound(s) of interest can be determined. In this review a critical summary ...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - April 28, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Synthesis and degradation pathways, functions, and pathology of ceramides and epidermal acylceramides
Publication date: Available online 21 April 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Akio Kihara Ceramide (Cer) is a structural backbone of sphingolipids and is composed of a long-chain base and a fatty acid. Existence of a variety of Cer species, which differ in chain-length, hydroxylation status, and/or double bond number of either of their hydrophobic chains, has been reported. Ceramide is produced by Cer synthases. Mammals have six Cer synthases (CERS1–6), each of which exhibits characteristic substrate specificity toward acyl-CoAs with different chain-lengths. Knockout mice for each Cer synthase show ...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - April 21, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
From hopanoids to cholesterol: Molecular clocks of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels
Publication date: Available online 12 April 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Francisco J. Barrantes, Jacques Fantini Pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) and their lipid microenvironments appear to have acquired mutually adaptive traits along evolution: 1) the three-ring architecture of their transmembrane (TM) region; 2) the ability of the outermost TM ring to convey lipid signals to the middle ring, which passes them on to the central pore ring, and 3) consensus motifs for sterol recognition in all pLGIC. Hopanoids are triterpenoid fossil lipids that constitute invaluable biomarkers for ...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - April 11, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Choline kinase alpha—Putting the ChoK-hold on tumor metabolism
Publication date: Available online 9 April 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Sean P. Arlauckas, Anatoliy V. Popov, E. James Delikatny It is well established that lipid metabolism is drastically altered during tumor development and response to therapy. Choline kinase alpha (ChoKα) is a key mediator of these changes, as it represents the first committed step in the Kennedy Pathway of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and ChoKα expression is upregulated in many human cancers. ChoKα activity is associated with drug resistant, metastatic, and malignant phenotypes, and represents a robust biomarker an...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - April 9, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Understanding the connection between platelet-activating factor, a UV-induced lipid mediator of inflammation, immune suppression and skin cancer
Publication date: Available online 9 April 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Elisabetta Damiani, Stephen E. Ullrich Lipid mediators of inflammation play important roles in several diseases including skin cancer, the most prevalent type of cancer found in the industrialized world. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a complete carcinogen and is the primary cause of skin cancer. UV radiation is also a potent immunosuppressive agent, and UV-induced immunosuppression is a well-known risk factor for skin cancer induction. An essential mediator in this process is the glyercophosphocholine 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-gl...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - April 9, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Sphingosine 1-phosphate and sphingosine kinases in health and disease: Recent advances
Publication date: Available online 10 March 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Susan Pyne, David R. Adams, Nigel J. Pyne Sphingosine kinases (isoforms SK1 and SK2) catalyse the formation of a bioactive lipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). S1P is a well-established ligand of a family of five S1P-specific G protein coupled receptors but also has intracellular signaling roles. There is substantial evidence to support a role for sphingosine kinases and S1P in health and disease. This review summarises recent advances in the area in relation to receptor-mediated signaling by S1P and novel intracellular...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - March 10, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Endocannabinoids and Endocannabinoid-Related Mediators: Targets, Metabolism and Role In Neurological Disorders
Publication date: Available online 7 March 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Fabio Arturo Iannotti, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Stefania Petrosino The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is composed of two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors, and the two main endogenous lipid ligands of such receptors (also known as the “endocannabinoids”), anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol. The ECS is a pleiotropic signalling systems involved in all aspects of mammalian physiology and pathology, and for this reason it represents a potential target for the design and development of ...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - March 8, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
Roles of specific lipid species in the cell and their molecular mechanism
Publication date: Available online 11 February 2016 Source:Progress in Lipid Research Author(s): Tomohiro Kimura, William Jennings, Richard M. Epand Thousands of different molecular species of lipids are present within a single cell, being involved in modulating the basic processes of life. The vast number of different lipid species can be organized into a number of different lipid classes, which may be defined as a group of lipids with a common chemical structure, such as the headgroup, apart from the nature of the hydrocarbon chains. Each lipid class has unique biological roles. In some cases, a relatively smal...
Source: Progress in Lipid Research - February 12, 2016 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research
