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Role of Sphingolipids in Bacterial Infections

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Health Consequences of Microbial Interactions with Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

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Abstract

Lipids play a very important role in the infection of mammalian cells by different pathogens. Sphingolipids have been shown by numerous recent studies to possess a particularly essential role in infectious biology. Sphingolipids such as sphingomyelin, ceramide, and sphingosine organize cell membranes into distinct domains, called rafts that are enriched with sphingolipids and cholesterol. The generation of ceramide within the cell membrane results in the formation of large ceramide-enriched membrane platforms that serve the temporal and spatial organization of the cellular signaling machinery. Ceramide-enriched membrane platforms have critical functions for bacterial and viral infections. In addition, ceramide and sphingosine regulate the functions of enzymes, receptors, and organelles such as lysosomes, and therefore contribute to the control of the cellular response to pathogens. Finally, at least sphingosine has a direct antibacterial effect against many pathogens. Here, we present the diverse functions of sphingolipids in infectious biology and discuss mechanisms of their actions.

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Author notes

  1. Katrin Anne Becker, Ryan Boudreau, and Aaron Gardner have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Katrin Anne Becker & Erich Gulbins

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Ryan Boudreau, Aaron P. Seitz, Charles C. Caldwell, Michael J. Edwards & Erich Gulbins

  3. Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Aaron Gardner & Malcolm Brodlie

  4. Department of Pharmacological & Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Xiang Li & Yang Zhang

Authors
  1. Katrin Anne Becker
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  2. Ryan Boudreau
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  3. Aaron Gardner
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  4. Aaron P. Seitz
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  5. Charles C. Caldwell
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  6. Xiang Li
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  7. Yang Zhang
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  8. Malcolm Brodlie
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  9. Michael J. Edwards
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  10. Erich Gulbins
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Correspondence to Erich Gulbins .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania Dept. Microbiology, PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA

    Howard Goldfine

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Becker, K.A. et al. (2019). Role of Sphingolipids in Bacterial Infections. In: Goldfine, H. (eds) Health Consequences of Microbial Interactions with Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72473-7_4-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72473-7_4-1

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