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Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1871-5206
ISSN (Online): 1875-5992

Regulation of Autophagy by Sphingolipids

Author(s): Carmen Bedia, Thierry Levade and Patrice Codogno

Volume 11, Issue 9, 2011

Page: [844 - 853] Pages: 10

DOI: 10.2174/187152011797655131

Price: $65

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Abstract

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved process by which cells recycle intracellular materials to maintain homeostasis in different cellular contexts. Under basal conditions it prevents accumulation of damaged proteins and organelles; during starvation, autophagy provides cells with sufficient nutrients to survive. Sphingolipids are a family of bioactive molecules modulating vital cellular functions such as apoptosis, cell cycle arrest or proliferation. Besides these functions, some sphingolipids like ceramide, sphingosine- 1-phosphate or gangliosides have been described to promote autophagy in several cancer cell lines. Current evidence supports the notion that induction of autophagic cell death can halt tumorigenesis. Of interest, some chemotherapeutic agents used for the treatment of hematological malignancies trigger the production of endogenous sphingolipids with pro-autophagic effects. In this review we describe the regulation and functions of the sphingolipid-induced autophagy and the tight relationship with the cancer cell response to current chemotherapeutic regimens.

Keywords: Sphingolipid, autophagy, ceramide, sphingosine-1-phosphate, cancer, hematological malignancies, UPS, ATG, PKB, JNK, Gangliosides, Mtor


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