Neurolipids in Neurodegenerative Processes
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 1583
Special Issue Editor
Interests: neuropharmacology; neurolipids; cannabinoid; cholinergic; imaging mass spectrometry; Alzheimer’s disease; radioligand binding; neurodegeneration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The lipid molecules that constitute most of the dry mass of brain are mainly phospholipids (PLs), sphingolipids (SLs) and cholesterol, which are located in cellular membranes. During the last decade, new analytical methods have been developed allowing the description, localization and identification of these lipid molecules. Accordingly, the super-specialization of lipids in the brain is being uncovered, accounting for a wide range of functions that include their known structural, metabolic and energetic metabolism, but some lipid species are also being identified as lipid mediators and signaling agents. These lipids with signaling activity reach their maximum level of specialization and diversity in the central nervous system (CNS), where they can act as neuromodulators or real neurotransmitters involved in the control of multiple physiological processes. These endogenous lipid-based signaling molecules constitute complete neurotransmitter systems and can be denominated as neurolipids (in a similar way to the term “neuropeptides”). The main sources of neurolipids are membrane lipid precursors which are mobilized by phospholipases, sphingomyelinases or different hydroxylases. The identified neurolipids include endocannabinoids; lysophospholipids (LPs); some free fatty acids; platelet-activating factors; some sulfatide-derived neurolipids such as ceramide, ceramide 1-phosphate, sphingosine, and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P); as well as some cholesterol-derived lipid mediators, such as 24- and 25-hydroxycholesterols. The neurolipids can be autocrine or paracrine mediators participating in multiple physiological functions, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, cell migration, inflammation and apoptosis, but also in the development of different pathologies. Other neurotransmitter systems, such as glutamatergic, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic, dopaminergic or cholinergic systems, modulate their synthesis and can be metabolized both enzymatically and non-enzymatically by oxidative degradation. Different G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for neurolipids have been identified, and some GPCR orphan receptors could also be their target.
These neurolipid systems are very abundant, active and ubiquitously distributed in different brain nucleus and cell types, including glial cells. Consequently, neurolipid systems are being analyzed as powerful new therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases, as well as multiple sclerosis. This Special Issue aims to collect the most advanced results in the promising field of neurolipids applied to the development of new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Rafael Rodriguez-Puertas
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- cannabinoid
- lysophospholipids
- sphingosine 1 phosphate
- lysophosphatidic acid
- neurolipids
- neurodegenerative diseases
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Hungtinton chorea
- multiple sclerosis
