Cell regulation by sphingosine and more complex sphingolipids

Sphingolipids have the potential to regulate cell behavior at essentially all levels of signal transduction. They serve as cell surface receptors for cytoskeletal proteins, immunoglobulins, and some bacteria; as modifiers of the properties of cell receptors for growth factors (and perhaps other agents); and as activators and inhibitors of protein kinases, ion transporters, and other proteins. Furthermore, the biological activity of these compounds resides not only in the more complex species (e.g., sphingomyelin, cerebrosides, gangliosides, and sulfatides), but also in their turnover products, such as the sphingosine backbone which inhibits protein kinase C and activates the EGF-receptor kinase,inter alia. Since sphingolipids change with cell growth, differentiation, and neoplastic transformation, they could be vital participants in the regulation of these processes.This review is dedicated to Professor Herbert E. Carter on the occasion of his 80th birthday.