Sphingolipids in Inflammation

The etiology of many diseases results from the dysregulation of inflammation.Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling the inflammatory response is essential to formulate therapeutic strategies for the treatment of inflammatory conditions.In fact, substantial research has unveiled important aspects of the inflammatory machinery, both at the cellular and molecular levels.Recently, sphingolipids (Sph) have emerged as signaling molecules that regulate many cell functions, and ample evidence emphasizes their role in the regulation of inflammatory responses.This special issue addresses the role of different Sph as mediators of inflammation and/or of oncogenic inflammatory signaling.The topics provide information about the behavior of enzymes for sphingolipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolites in vitro in various experimental cell models as well as in vivo in animal and patient blood.The issue includes thirteen papers, six reviews, and seven research articles.The papers highlight the following aspects: the action of Sph in various phases of acute inflammatory response, the behavior of enzymes that produces ceramides (Cer), those that utilize Cer to produce other bioactive molecules such as Cer-1-phosphate (Cer1P) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), and those that transform S1P such as S1P phosphatase and S1P lyase in inflammation and cancer.The different sphingolipids mediate their cellular effects both as components of cellular membranes as well as they act as signaling molecules in the cell.Membrane-bound sphingolipids can be organized in so-called lipid rafts or detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs).These temporal and spatial restricted membrane areas are signaling platforms for different membrane receptors.Instead, Cer, Cer1P,