Abstract
Lipid metabolism is regulated by multiple signaling pathways, and generates a variety of bioactive lipid molecules. These bioactive lipid molecules known as signaling molecules, such as fatty acid, eicosanoids, diacylglycerol, phosphatidic acid, lysophophatidic acid, ceramide, sphingosine, sphingosine-1-phosphate, phosphatidylinositol-3 phosphate, and cholesterol, are involved in the activation or regulation of different signaling pathways. Lipid metabolism participates in the regulation of many cellular processes such as cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, survival, apoptosis, inflammation, motility, membrane homeostasis, chemotherapy response, and drug resistance. Bioactive lipid molecules promote apoptosis via the intrinsic pathway by modulating mitochondrial membrane permeability and activating different enzymes including caspases. In this review, we discuss recent data in the fields of lipid metabolism, lipid-mediated apoptosis, and cancer therapy. In conclusion, understanding the underlying molecular mechanism of lipid metabolism and the function of different lipid molecules could provide the basis for cancer cell death rationale, discover novel and potential targets, and develop new anticancer drugs for cancer therapy.
Highlights
Lipids are hydrophobic or amphipathic small molecules, and are not like proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides which are large macromolecular polymers formed by the chemical linking of several small constituent molecules [1,2]
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs): GPCRs are a superfamily of receptors that are vital in a wide array of physiological processes and are the most important class of membrane proteins in clinical medicine accounting for approximately 40% of all current therapeutics [24,25]
It has two isoforms and is an intronic miRNA located in a non-coding region of sterol-regulatory binding factor (SRBF) genes which are involved in cholesterol uptake and synthesis [84]
Summary
Lipids are hydrophobic or amphipathic (hydrophilic and lipophilic) small molecules, and are not like proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides which are large macromolecular polymers formed by the chemical linking of several small constituent molecules (these molecular building blocks are similar, or homologous, in structure) [1,2]. Amphipathic lipids form plasma membranes in which cells can maintain all biological events in an intracellular environment and respond to the changes of extracellular environment. Lipid metabolism (anabolism and catabolism) generates a variety of biological intermediators. Many of these intermediators are bioactive lipid molecules ( known as signaling molecules or second messengers) which are produced by the activation of multiple signaling pathways and can regulate multiple signaling pathways [3]. Lipid metabolism connects to signaling networks in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, survival, apoptosis, inflammation, motility, and membrane homeostasis [4,5,6]. Lipid metabolism can alter membrane composition and permeability which cause the development and progression of many diseases including a variety of cancers [7]
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