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About the Authors:
Ashley J. Snider
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Northport, New York, United States of America, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Wahida H. Ali
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Jonathan A. Sticca
Affiliation: University of South Carolina, School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
Nicolas Coant
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Amr M. Ghaleb
Affiliations Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Toshihiko Kawamori
Affiliations University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America, Department of Pathology, Ichinomiya Nishi Hospital, Aichi, Japan
Vincent W. Yang
Affiliations Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Yusuf A. Hannun
Affiliations Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Lina M. Obeid
Affiliations Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Northport, New York, United States of America, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
Introduction
Sphingolipids, originally described as a family of lipids with structural roles, are emerging as potent bioactive lipids with distinct biological functions. Three key bioactive sphingolipids have been extensively studied; ceramide and sphingosine are implicated in cell death [1]–[3], growth arrest and senescence [4], [5], while S1P is associated with proliferation [6], migration and cytoskeletal rearrangement [7], [8]. Of recent interest is the role for S1P and its synthetic enzyme, SK1 in inflammation and immune cell trafficking. S1P binds to a family of five G-protein coupled receptors, namely S1PRs to elicit many of its effects; although novel intracellular targets have also recently been identified. Studies...