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Updated: Mar 3, 2026

A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
Sphingolipids and Lipoproteins in Health and Metabolic Disorders
Jahangir Iqbal1, Meghan T Walsh2, Samar M Hammad3
1Department of Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11203, USA; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, MNGHA, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract:
Sphingolipids are structurally and functionally diverse molecules with significant physiologic functions and are found associated with cellular membranes and plasma lipoproteins. The cellular and plasma concentrations of sphingolipids are altered in several metabolic disorders and may serve as prognostic and diagnostic markers. Here we discuss various sphingolipid transport mechanisms and highlight how changes in cellular and plasma sphingolipid levels contribute to cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Understanding of the mechanisms involved in intracellular transport, secretion, and extracellular transport may provide novel information that might be amenable to therapeutic targeting for the treatment of various metabolic disorders.
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