An assay system for measuring the acute production of sphingosine 1-phosphate in intact monolayers

Sphingosine kinase (SK) is a signaling enzyme that phosphorylates sphingosine to produce sphingosine 1-phosphate. Sphingosine and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) belong to a class of bioactive sphingolipid metabolites that are critical in a number of cellular processes, yet often have opposing biological functions. The intracellular localization of sphingosine kinase has been demonstrated in multiple studies to be a critical aspect of its signaling function. To date, assays of sphingosine kinase activity have been developed for measuring activity in lysates, where the effects of localization are lost. Here we outline a system in which the rate of production of S1P can be measured in intact cells using exogenously added radiolabeled ATP instead of tritiated sphingosine. The surprising ability of ATP to enter unpermeabilized monolayers is one aspect that makes this assay simple, efficient, and inexpensive, yet sensitive enough to measure endogenous enzyme activity. The assay is well behaved in terms of kinetics and substrate dependence. Overall, this assay is ideal for future studies to identify changes in S1P production in intact cells such as those that result from the differential intracellular targeting of sphingosine kinase.