[Sphingolipids--a new group of lipid second messengers?].

Sphingolipids have the potential to regulate cell behavior at essentially all levels of signal transduction. They serve as cell surface receptors for cytoskeletal proteins, immunoglobulins, and some bacteria; as modifiers of the properties of cell receptors for growth factors (and perhaps other agents); and as activators and inhibitors of protein kinases, ion transporters, and other proteins. the biological activity of these compounds resides not only in the more complex molecules, but also in their turnover products. Since sphingolipids change with cell growth, differentiation, and neoplastic transformation, they could be vital participants in the regulation of these processes.