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Sphingolipid Metabolism and Signaling as a Target for Cancer Treatment

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Cell Death Signaling in Cancer Biology and Treatment

Part of the book series: Cell Death in Biology and Diseases ((CELLDEATH))

Abstract

Sphingolipids play key roles in the regulation of several biologic processes that are integral to cancer pathogenesis. Among the sphingolipid metabolites, ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) have been shown to modulate cancer development and progression. The biologic roles of other metabolites, such as sphingosine, and ceramide 1-phosphate, are also beginning to emerge. In general, ceramide plays a role as a tumor-suppressing lipid-inducing anti-proliferative response such as cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis, and senescence whereas S1P plays a role as a tumor-promoting lipid-inducing transformation, cellular proliferation, and inflammation in various cell models. Glycosphingolipids, another emerging class of bioactive sphingolipids, are believed to play anti-apoptotic roles and offer drug resistance to currently used chemotherapeutic drugs. These emerging biologic roles of sphingolipids and its potential usefulness in treating cancer in the form of anticancer therapeutics are discussed in this chapter.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Benjamin Newcomb for his critical review of this chapter. We also thank the members of Yusuf Hannun and Lina Obeid laboratory for their helpful discussion. We apologize to those investigators whose important works were not included in this chapter because of the space limitations. The Yusuf Hannun laboratory is supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health, USA.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Vinodh Rajagopalan

  2. Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Yusuf A. Hannun

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  1. Vinodh Rajagopalan
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  2. Yusuf A. Hannun
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Correspondence to Yusuf A. Hannun .

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  1. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Division of Hematology/Oncology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Daniel E. Johnson

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Rajagopalan, V., Hannun, Y.A. (2013). Sphingolipid Metabolism and Signaling as a Target for Cancer Treatment. In: Johnson, D. (eds) Cell Death Signaling in Cancer Biology and Treatment. Cell Death in Biology and Diseases. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5847-0_8

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