Signaling of sphingosine-1-phosphate via the S1P/EDG-family of G-protein-coupled receptors

The sphingosine-1-phosphate/Endothelial Differentiation Gene (S1P/EDG) family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) currently includes five different isoforms, which differentially regulate fundamental cellular processes such as migration, proliferation, cytoskeletal organization, adherens junction assembly and morphogenesis. Additionally, specific S1P/EDG isoforms can regulate important physiological processes such as blood vessel maturation, cardiac development and angiogenesis in vivo. Herein, we review the current state of knowledge of the expression patterns, signaling pathways and functional characteristics of the different S1P receptors. Further investigation in this field will likely improve our understanding of cardiovascular development as well as vascular diseases and may lead to novel therapeutic approaches.