Sphingosine kinase 1 and tumor.
- Author:
Caixia ZHANG
;
Hongwei HE
;
Rongguang SHAO
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica
2013;48(7):971-8
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Sphingolipids as an important regulator play a critical role in the cell biological functions. Among them, ceramide (Cer) and sphingosine (Sph) induce apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation; on the contrary sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) promotes cell survival and proliferation. The balance between ceramide/sphingosine and S1P forms a so-called "sphingolipid-rheostat", which decides the cell fate. Sphingosine kinases, which catalyze the phosphorylation of sphingosine to S1P, are critical regulators of this balance. Here, we review the role of sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) in regulating fundamental biological processes and tumorigenesis and the potential of SphK1 as a new target for cancer therapeutics.
