Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen 72076, Germany; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14580, USA.
Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen 72076, Germany; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14580, USA.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2018 Jun;43:92-99. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2017.12.011. Epub 2018 Jan 12.
Sphingolipids, a lipid class characterized by a long-chain amino alcohol backbone, serve vital structural and signaling roles in eukaryotes. Though eukaryotes produce sphingolipids, this capacity is phylogenetically highly restricted in Bacteria. Intriguingly, bacterial species commonly associated in high abundance with eukaryotic hosts include sphingolipid producers, such as the Bacteroidetes in the mammalian gut. To date, a role for bacterial sphingolipids in immune system maturation has been described, but their fate and impact in host physiology and metabolism remain to be elucidated. The structural conservation of bacterial sphingolipids with those produced by their mammalian hosts offer clues about which aspects of mammalian biology may be modulated by these intriguing lipids.
鞘脂类化合物是一类以长链氨基醇骨架为特征的脂质，在真核生物中具有重要的结构和信号作用。尽管真核生物能够合成鞘脂类化合物，但这种能力在细菌中是高度受限的。有趣的是，与真核宿主密切相关的细菌物种通常是鞘脂类化合物的生产者，如哺乳动物肠道中的拟杆菌门。迄今为止，已经描述了细菌鞘脂类化合物在免疫系统成熟中的作用，但它们在宿主生理和代谢中的命运和影响仍有待阐明。细菌鞘脂类化合物与哺乳动物宿主产生的鞘脂类化合物在结构上的保守性为这些有趣的脂质可能调节哺乳动物生物学的哪些方面提供了线索。
