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Updated: May 19, 2026

A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
The functional roles of S1P in immunity
Yu Hisano1, Tsuyoshi Nishi, Atsuo Kawahara
1Laboratory for Cardiovascular Molecular Dynamics, Riken Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC), Furuedai 6-2-3, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan. y.hisano@riken.jp
Abstract:
The lipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is generated within cells from sphingosine by two sphingosine kinases (SPHK1 and SPHK2). Intracellularly synthesized S1P is released into the extracellular fluid by S1P transporters, including SPNS2. Released S1P binds specifically to the G protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1PR1/S1P(1)-S1PR5/S1P(5)), which activate a diverse range of downstream signalling pathways. Recent studies have proposed that one of the central physiological functions of intercellular S1P signalling is in lymphocyte trafficking in vivo because genetic disruption of SPHK1/2, SPNS2 or S1PR1/S1P(1) in mice induces a lymphopenia phenotype. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of intercellular S1P signalling in the context of immunity.
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