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Lipid Signaling

Normal cellular membranes have roughly equal amounts of protein and lipid. Lipid signaling is normally a stress response that affects the fluidity of all biological membranes. When lipid signaling increases, the fluid level of biological membranes also goes up, causing swelling in membranes and keying the first step of the inflammatory response.

Phospholipases (PL) in particular are enzymes implicated in lipid signaling which are critical to several cellular processes including the generation of arachidonic acid, which is a precursor for the eicosanoids prostaglandins and leukotrienes, which are critical in the inflammatory response. Some of these enzymes are implicated in secretion and vesicle trafficking, insulin response, cellular growth and differentiation, cell proliferation and adhesion, and apoptosis.

In addition, some of the lipids involved in lipid signaling processes are cholesterols, implicated in a number of diseases and disorders. Phospholipase disorders contribute to high cholesterol levels in people who are otherwise not at high risk for problems.

By developing specific genetic treatments to eliminate or deactivate some phospholipases, a number of disorders may be treatable at the root, including some precancerous conditions.

Web Resources On Lipid Signaling

Kansas Lipidomics Research Center
Protein kinase C and lipid signaling for sustained cellular responses

Book Resources On Lipid Signaling

Membrane Lipid Signaling in Aging and Age-Related Disease by M.P. Mattson, ed.

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