Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2011 Jan 1;16(5):1797-810. doi: 10.2741/3822.
Sphingolipids are biologically active lipids ubiquitously expressed in all vertebrate cells, especially those in the CNS. Aside from their essential roles as structural components of cell membranes, studies over the past two decades have shown that they play vital roles in cellular signaling, cell differentiation and proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation. Given these properties, it is not surprising that disruption of sphingolipid metabolism is strongly associated with several diseases that exhibit diverse neurological, psychiatric, and metabolic consequences. Here, we review the emerging roles of sphingolipids in disease pathogenesis in psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. Understanding sphingolipid metabolism and it dysregulation in human disease is significant for the development of new therapeutic approaches.
鞘脂类是广泛存在于所有脊椎动物细胞中的生物活性脂质，尤其是中枢神经系统细胞。除了作为细胞膜结构成分的基本功能外，过去二十年来的研究表明，鞘脂类在细胞信号转导、细胞分化和增殖、细胞凋亡和炎症中发挥着重要作用。鉴于这些特性，鞘脂代谢紊乱与表现出多种神经、精神和代谢后果的几种疾病密切相关也就不足为奇了。在这里，我们综述了鞘脂类在精神疾病发病机制中的新作用，包括精神分裂症、双相情感障碍和重度抑郁症。了解鞘脂代谢及其在人类疾病中的失调对开发新的治疗方法具有重要意义。
