Identification of the first mammalian sphingosine phosphate lyase gene and its functional expression in yeast

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S-1-P) has been shown to participate in the proliferative signal transduction pathways of mammalian cells. Sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase (SPL) catalyzes the breakdown of S-1-P. Using the C. elegans SPL nucleotide sequence, we identified a mouse EST as a putative candidate for the homologous gene encoding this enzyme. Sequencing of the mouse EST revealed an open reading frame of 1707 nucleotides. This putative mouse SPL gene is 62% similar and 39% identical to the C. elegans SPL gene and 59% homologous and 39.6% identical to the yeast SPL gene. Expression of the mouse SPL gene in a yeast strain-delta bst1, which carries a deletion of the SPL gene and is hypersensitive to sphingosine, restored a sphingosine-resistant phenotype, suggesting this mouse gene can functionally complement the yeast defect when expressed. In vitro enzyme assay using extracts from these sphingosine-resistant transformants confirmed the SPL activities encoded by this mouse cDNA clone. Northern analysis indicated the mouse SPL gene is expressed at various levels in different tissues. Chromosomal localization mapped this SPL gene to Chromosome 10 at 32 cM. Here, we report the identification of the first mammalian sphingosine phosphate lyase gene.