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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
Introduction to Thematic Minireview Series: Novel Bioactive Sphingolipids
Alfred H Merrill1, George M Carman2
1Schools of Biology and Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332; Schools of Biology and Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332; Schools of Biology and Chemistry & Biochemistry, and the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332.
Abstract:
Sphingosine was named by J. L. W. Thudichum for its enigmatic properties. This descriptor has applied to sphingolipids for over a century because new enigmas continue to surface. This JBC minireview series presents articles about three novel subspecies of sphingolipids, α-galactosylceramides, 4,5-dihydroceramides, and 1-deoxysphingolipids, that have important activities but, until recently, remained undetected (or at least understudied) in the shadow of very closely related compounds. They also serve as a reminder that important metabolites still lie "off the radar screen" in reports of global and comprehensive metabolomic profiling.
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