Cellular Glycosphingolipids in Human Disease

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2024 | Viewed by 2122

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Massey Cancer Center, Richmond, VA, USA
Interests: cellular glycosphingolipids; cancer; cancer health disparities

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Interests: molecular signals; embryonic mouth; primary palate development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Within the mammalian plasma membrane, there is a large family of structurally and functionally diverse lipids called glycosphingolipids. These ubiquitous amphiphilic molecules include mono- and poly-glycosylated ceramides, including gangliosides, globosides, sulfatides, neolactosides, and others. Glycosphingolipids have been associated with a remarkable array of diverse biological processes, including cell growth, adhesion, differentiation, motility, which can significantly exacerbate cancer malignancy and are associated with poor outcomes. Glycosphingolipids are also known modulators of receptor tyrosine kinases and membrane embedded proteins, and are thus key players in the modulation of signal transduction pathways that can regulate cell growth and determine cell fate. In human cancers, they have been associated with increased proliferation, tumorigenesis, the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, the development of chemoresistance, and responses to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This special issue of Cells contains original research and review that further examines the roles that these lipids play in these and other critical processes in human cancers.   

Dr. Santiago Lima
Dr. Amanda Dickinson
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • glycosphingolipid
  • cancer
  • sphingolipid
  • signal transduction
  • epithelial to mesenchymal
  • ceramide
  • microdomain
  • chemoresistance
  • glucosylceramide
  • ganglioside
  • globoside
  • lactoside
  • neolactoside
  • sulfatide
  • GSL

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 6513 KiB  
Article
GBA Regulates EMT/MET and Chemoresistance in Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells by Modulating the Cellular Glycosphingolipid Profile
by Laura E. Clark, Amanda J. G. Dickinson and Santiago Lima
Cells 2023, 12(14), 1886; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12141886 - 18 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1774
Abstract
Glycosphingolipids (GSL) are plasma membrane components that influence molecular processes involved in cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic responses. They also modulate receptor tyrosine kinases involved in EMT. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate GSLs in cancer has important therapeutic potential. One critical regulator [...] Read more.
Glycosphingolipids (GSL) are plasma membrane components that influence molecular processes involved in cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic responses. They also modulate receptor tyrosine kinases involved in EMT. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate GSLs in cancer has important therapeutic potential. One critical regulator of GSLs is the lysosomal glucosylceramidase β1 (GBA) that catalyzes the last step in GSL degradation. We show that, in cancer, GBA copy number amplifications and increased expression are widespread. We show that depleting GBA in squamous cell carcinoma cell lines results in a mesenchymal-to-epithelial shift, decreased invasion and migration, increased chemotherapeutic sensitivity, and decreased activation of receptor tyrosine kinases that are involved in regulating EMT. Untargeted lipidomics shows that GBA depletion had significant effects on sphingolipids and GSLs, suggesting that increased GBA activity in cancer sustains EMT and chemoresistance by modulating receptor tyrosine kinase activity and signaling via effects on the cellular lipid profile. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular Glycosphingolipids in Human Disease)
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