De Novo Sphingolipid Biosynthesis: A Necessary, but Dangerous, Pathway

Alfred H Merrill

doi:10.1074/jbc.r200009200

Abstract

De Novo Sphingolipid Biosynthesis: A Necessary, but Dangerous, Pathway

Highlights

The capacity for de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis (Fig. 1) is widespread among cell types and tissues
De novo sphingolipid biosynthesis is probably required for survival in vivo because, sphingolipids are present in most foods, the sphingoid bases are largely degraded in the mammalian intestine [11]
It is intriguing that this pathway contains so many compounds that affect cell behavior when added exogenously or formed via sphingolipid turnover and that the consequences can be growth arrest and cytotoxicity or growth stimulation or inhibition of apoptosis [1, 2]

Summary

Introduction

The capacity for de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis (Fig. 1) is widespread among cell types and tissues. In the absence of an exogenous sphingoid base source, loss of this pathway by mutation of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT)2 [8, 9] or its inhibition by ISP1/myriocin or sphingofungin B [10] affects growth and viability.

Results

Conclusion