Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a metabolic product of cell membrane sphingolipids, is bound to extracellular chaperones, is enriched in circulatory fluids, and binds to G protein-coupled S1P ...receptors (S1PRs) to regulate embryonic development, postnatal organ function, and disease. S1PRs regulate essential processes such as adaptive immune cell trafficking, vascular development, and homeostasis. Moreover, S1PR signaling is a driver of multiple diseases. The past decade has witnessed an exponential growth in this field, in part because of multidisciplinary research focused on this lipid mediator and the application of S1PR-targeted drugs in clinical medicine. This has revealed fundamental principles of lysophospholipid mediator signaling that not only clarify the complex and wide ranging actions of S1P but also guide the development of therapeutics and translational directions in immunological, cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory, and fibrotic diseases.
AbstractSphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a sphingolipid mediator, regulates various cellular functions via high-affinity G protein-coupled receptors, S1P1-5. The S1P-S1P receptor signaling system plays ...important roles in lymphocyte trafficking and maintenance of vascular integrity, thus contributing to the regulation of complex inflammatory processes. S1P is enriched in blood and lymph while maintained low in intracellular or interstitial fluids, creating a steep S1P gradient that is utilized to facilitate efficient egress of lymphocytes from lymphoid organs. Blockage of the S1P-S1P receptor signaling system results in a marked decrease in circulating lymphocytes because of a failure of lymphocyte egress from lymphoid organs. This provides a basis of immunomodulatory drugs targeting S1P1 receptor such as FTY720, an immunosuppressive drug approved in 2010 as the first oral treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The S1P-S1P receptor signaling system also plays important roles in maintenance of vascular integrity since it suppresses sprouting angiogenesis and regulates vascular permeability. Dysfunction of the S1P-S1P receptor signaling system results in various vascular defects, such as exaggerated angiogenesis in developing retina and augmented inflammation due to increased permeability. Endothelial-specific deletion of S1P1 receptor in mice fed high-fat diet leads to increased formation of atherosclerotic lesions. This review highlights the importance of the S1P-S1P receptor signaling system in inflammatory processes. We also describe our recent findings regarding a specific S1P chaperone, apolipoprotein M, that anchors to high-density lipoprotein and contributes to shaping the endothelial-protective and anti-inflammatory properties of high-density lipoprotein.
Membrane sphingolipids are metabolized to sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a bioactive lipid mediator that regulates many processes in vertebrate development, physiology, and pathology. Once exported ...out of cells by cell-specific transporters, chaperone-bound S1P is spatially compartmentalized in the circulatory system. Extracellular S1P interacts with five GPCRs that are widely expressed and transduce intracellular signals to regulate cellular behavior, such as migration, adhesion, survival, and proliferation. While many organ systems are affected, S1P signaling is essential for vascular development, neurogenesis, and lymphocyte trafficking. Recently, a pharmacological S1P receptor antagonist has won approval to control autoimmune neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis. The availability of pharmacological tools as well as mouse genetic models has revealed several physiological actions of S1P and begun to shed light on its pathological roles. The unique mode of signaling of this lysophospholipid mediator is providing novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention, with possibilities to target not only GPCRs but also transporters, metabolic enzymes, and chaperones.
Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a membrane-derived lysophospholipid that acts primarily as an extracellular signaling molecule. Signals initiated by S1P are transduced by five G protein-coupled ...receptors, named S1P1–5. Cellular and temporal expression of the S1P receptors (S1PRs) determine their specific roles in various organ systems, but they are particularly critical for regulation of the cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems, with the most well-known contributions of S1PR signaling being modulation of vascular barrier function, vascular tone, and regulation of lymphocyte trafficking. However, our knowledge of S1PR biology is rapidly increasing as they become attractive therapeutic targets in several diseases, such as chronic inflammatory pathologies, autoimmunity, and cancer. Understanding how the S1PRs regulate interactions between biological systems will allow for greater efficacy in this novel therapeutic strategy as well as characterization of complex physiological networks. Because of the rapidly expanding body of research, this review will focus on the most recent advances in S1PRs.
Vertebrates are endowed with a closed circulatory system, the evolution of which required novel structural and regulatory changes. Furthermore, immune cell trafficking paradigms adapted to the ...barriers imposed by the closed circulatory system. How did such changes occur mechanistically? We propose that spatial compartmentalization of the lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) may be one such mechanism. In vertebrates, S1P is spatially compartmentalized in the blood and lymphatic circulation, thus comprising a sharp S1P gradient across the endothelial barrier. Circulatory S1P has critical roles in maturation and homeostasis of the vascular system as well as in immune cell trafficking. Physiological functions of S1P are tightly linked to shear stress, the key biophysical stimulus from blood flow. Thus, circulatory S1P confinement could be a primordial strategy of vertebrates in the development of a closed circulatory system. This review discusses the cellular and molecular basis of the S1P gradients and aims to interpret its physiological significance as a key feature of the closed circulatory system.
Lysophospholipids, exemplified by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), are produced by the metabolism and perturbation of biological membranes. Both molecules are ...established extracellular lipid mediators that signal via specific G protein-coupled receptors in vertebrates. This widespread signaling axis regulates the development, physiological functions, and pathological processes of all organ systems. Indeed, recent research into LPA and S1P has revealed their important roles in cellular stress signaling, inflammation, resolution, and host defense responses. In this review, we focus on how LPA regulates fibrosis, neuropathic pain, abnormal angiogenesis, endometriosis, and disorders of neuroectodermal development such as hydrocephalus and alopecia. In addition, we discuss how S1P controls collective behavior, apoptotic cell clearance, and immunosurveillance of cancers. Advances in lysophospholipid research have led to new therapeutics in autoimmune diseases, with many more in earlier stages of development for a wide variety of diseases, such as fibrotic disorders, vascular diseases, and cancer.
Metabolism of cellular membranes forms lipid mediators that activate their cognate G protein- coupled receptors (GPCR) to regulate cellular responses. Our laboratory has contributed to this area by ...cloning of the human cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) that produces prostanoids as well as cloning and deorphaning of the first S1P receptor (S1PR1). This GPCR is now the target of small molecule drugs that are approved to treat many autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis. Recent clinical trials are testing if S1PR-targeted compounds are beneficial for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Our recent studies on S1P have focused on S1P chaperones, which are defined as proteins that bind and present S1P to its GPCRs to direct specific signaling modes. Specifically, HDL-bound apolipoprotein M (ApoM) binds to S1P and regulates specific biological processes, such as maintenance of vascular endothelial cell (EC) barrier function, suppression of cytokine-induced inflammatory gene expression, EC survival and regulation of lymphopoiesis. HDL-bound S1P levels are decreased in SLE, sepsis, diabetes, aging and cardiovascular disease, and contributes to pathological processes by suppressing EC S1PR1 signaling. To develop a therapeutic strategy to enhance HDL-S1P/EC S1PR1 signaling axis that supports EC resilience, we engineered two recombinant fusion proteins – a soluble form (ApoM-Fc) and ApoA1-ApoM (A1M) that forms HDL-like nanoparticles. Recent work shows that A1M chaperones S1P as well as prostacyclin (PGI2), enhances EC barrier function and suppress inflammatory processes in vitro and in vivo. ApoM-bound S1P does not suppress lymphocyte egress suggesting that its large size prevents it from entering secondary lymphoid organs and acting as a functional antagonist to downregulate lymphocyte S1PR1. Studies on chaperone bound S1P action on ECs during pathological changes will be presented. These mechanistic studies have deepened our understanding of S1P biology thus allows rational design of new therapeutic approaches to not only tame the immune system but also enhance vascular endothelial functions.Supported by NIH grants R35HL135821 and R01EY031715.
Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a product of sphingomyelin (SM) metabolism, occurs widely in nature. Although, originally described as an intracellular second messenger, its role as an extracellular ...lipid mediator in higher organisms has recently been shown with the discovery of the G protein-coupled receptors (GRCR) for S1P. In mammals, S1P receptors are widely expressed and are thought to regulate important physiological actions, such as immune cell trafficking, vascular development, vascular tone control, cardiac function, and vascular permeability, among others. In addition, S1P may participate in various pathological conditions. For example, S1P has been implicated as an important mediator in autoimmunity, transplant rejection, cancer, angiogenesis, vascular permeability, female infertility, and myocardial infarction. It is important to emphasize that these findings represent an early understanding of the physiological and pathological roles of S1P. The ubiquity of the mediator and its receptors, as well as the evolutionary conservation of S1P metabolism and action, argues that it is a potent and ubiquitous physiological factor in many contexts, and warrant a fuller understanding of its actions at the molecular, cellular and organismal levels.
Fingolimod, a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulator, was the first oral disease-modifying therapy approved for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; it reduces autoreactive lymphocytes’ ...egress from lymphoid tissues by down-regulating S1PRs. Sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling is implicated in a range of physiologic functions, and S1PRs are expressed differentially in various tissues, including the cardiovascular system. Modulation of S1PRs on cardiac cells provides an explanation for the transient effects of fingolimod on heart rate and atrioventricular conduction at initiation of fingolimod therapy, and for the mild but more persistent effects on blood pressure observed in some patients on long-term treatment. This review describes the nontherapeutic actions of fingolimod in the context of sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling in the cardiovascular system, as well as providing a summary of the associated clinical implications useful to physicians considering initiation of fingolimod therapy in patients. A transient reduction in heart rate (mean decrease of 8 beats per minute) and, less commonly, a temporary delay in atrioventricular conduction observed in some patients when initiating fingolimod therapy are both due to activation of S1PR subtype 1 on cardiac myocytes. These effects are a reflection of fingolimod first acting as a full S1PR agonist and thereafter functioning as an S1PR antagonist after down-regulation of S1PR subtype 1 at the cell surface. For most individuals, first-dose effects of fingolimod are asymptomatic, but all patients need to be monitored for at least 6 hours after the first dose, in accordance with the label recommendations.
Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lipid mediator produced from sphingomyelin by the sequential enzymatic actions of sphingomyelinase, ceramidase, and sphingosine kinase. Five subtypes of cell ...surface G-protein-coupled receptors, S1P
1–5
, mediate the actions of S1P in various organs systems, most notably cardiovascular, immune, and central nervous systems. S1P is enriched in blood and lymph but is present at much lower concentrations in interstitial fluids of tissues. This vascular S1P gradient is important for the regulation of trafficking of various immune cells. FTY720, which was recently approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, potently sequesters lymphocytes into lymph nodes by functionally antagonizing the activity of the S1P
1
receptor. S1P also plays critical roles in the vascular barrier integrity, thereby regulating inflammation, tumor metastasis, angiogenesis, and atherosclerosis. Recent studies have also revealed the involvement of S1P signaling in coagulation and in tumor necrosis factor α-mediated signaling. This review highlights the importance of S1P signaling in these inflammatory processes as well as the contribution of each receptor subtype, which exhibits both cooperative and redundant functions.