"Cross talk" between the bioactive glycerolipids and sphingolipids in signal transduction

Abstract

Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine via receptor-mediated stimulation of phospholipase D produces phosphatidate that can be converted to lysophosphatidate and diacylglycerol. Diacylglycerol is an activator of protein kinase C, whereas phosphatidate and lysophosphatidate stimulate tyrosine kinases and activate the Ras–Raf–mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. These three lipids can stimulate cell division. Conversely, activation of sphingomyelinase by agonists (e.g., tumor necrosis factor-α) causes ceramide production that inhibits cell division and produces apoptosis. If ceramides are metabolized to sphingosine and sphingosine 1-phosphate, then these lipids can stimulate phospholipase D and are also mitogenic. By contrast, ceramides inhibit the activation of phospholipase D by decreasing its interaction with the G-proteins, ARF and Rho, which are necessary for its activation. In whole cells, ceramides also stimulate the degradation of phosphatidate, lysophosphatidate, ceramide 1-phosphate, and sphingosine 1-phosphate through a multifunctional phosphohydrolase (the Mg²⁺-independent phosphatidate phosphohydrolase), whereas sphingosine inhibits phosphatidate phosphohydrolase. Tumor necrosis factor-α causes insulin resistance, which may be partly explained by ceramide production. Cell-permeable ceramides decrease insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes after 2–24 h, whereas they stimulate basal glucose uptake. These effects do not depend on decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 or the interaction of insulin receptor substrate-1 with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. They appear to rely on the differential effects of ceramides on the translocation of GLUT1- and GLUT4-containing vesicles. It is concluded that there is a significant interaction and "cross-talk" between the sphingolipid and glycerolipid pathways that modifies signal transduction to control vesicle movement, cell division, and cell death.Key words: ceramides, insulin resistance, phosphatidate, phospholipases, signal transduction.