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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
Structure and function of sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase, a key enzyme of sphingolipid metabolism
Florence Bourquin1, Howard Riezman, Guido Capitani
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase (SPL), a key enzyme of sphingolipid metabolism, catalyzes the irreversible degradation of sphingoid base phosphates. Its main substrate sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) acts both extracellularly, by binding G protein-coupled receptors of the lysophospholipid receptor family, and inside the cell, as a second messenger. There, S1P takes part in regulating various cellular processes and its levels are tightly regulated. SPL is a pivotal enzyme regulating S1P intracellular concentrations and a promising drug target for the design of immunosuppressants. We structurally and functionally characterized yeast SPL (Dpl1p) and its first prokaryotic homolog, from Symbiobacterium thermophilum. The Dpl1p structure served as a basis for a very reliable model of Homo sapiens SPL. The above results, together with in vitro and in vivo studies of SPL mutants, reveal which residues are involved in activity and substrate binding and pave the way to studies aimed at controlling the activity of this pivotal enzyme.
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