Abstract
Plasmalogens, a subclass of glycerophospholipids containing a vinyl-ether bond, are one of the major components of biological membranes. Changes in plasmalogen content and molecular species have been reported in a variety of pathological conditions ranging from inherited to metabolic and degenerative diseases. Most of these diseases have no treatment, and attempts to develop a therapy have been focusing primarily on protein/nucleic acid molecular targets. However, recent studies have shifted attention to lipids as the basis of a therapeutic strategy. In these pathological conditions, the use of plasmalogen replacement therapy (PRT) has been shown to be a successful way to restore plasmalogen levels as well as to ameliorate the disease phenotype in different clinical settings. Here, the current state of PRT will be reviewed as well as a discussion of future perspectives in PRT. It is proposed that the use of PRT provides a modern and innovative molecular medicine approach aiming at improving health outcomes in different conditions with clinically unmet needs.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The chemical structure of plasmalogens is similar to their diacyl glycerophospholipids counterparts (Figure 1) [5,6,7]
Plasmalogens differ from their diacyl counterparts by having an alkyl chain attached via a vinyl-ether bond to the sn-1 position of the glycerol moiety (Figure 1)
Summary
Biological membranes present large lipid compositional diversity because of the presence of qualitatively and quantitatively different molecular lipid species [1]. Plasmalogens, a vinyl-ether subclass of glycerophospholipids, are one of the major lipid components of biological membranes. These lipids are found in a variety of organisms ranging from bacteria to mammals [2]. Plasmalogen levels are tissue-specific, and their content composes up to 20% of the total membrane lipid [3,4,5] Because of their high abundance, it is not unexpected that loss of plasmalogens has been associated with several pathologies ranging from inherited to metabolic and degenerative disorders (see Section 3 below)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
