The genetics of sphingolipid hydrolases and sphingolipid storage diseases

Protection mechanisms against aberrant metabolism of sphingolipids in budding yeast

Life is dependent on the protection of cellular functions from various stresses. Sphingolipids are essential biomembrane components in eukaryotic organisms, which are exposed to risks that may disrupt sphingolipid metabolism, threatening their lives. Defects of the sphingolipid biosynthesis pathway cause profound defects of various cellular functions and ultimately cell death. Therefore, cells are equipped with defense response mechanisms against aberrant metabolism of sphingolipids, the most characterized one being the target of rapamycin complex 2-mediated regulation of sphingolipid biosynthesis in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. On the other hand, very recently, we found that the high osmolarity glycerol pathway is involved in suppression of a growth defect caused by a reduction in complex sphingolipid levels in yeast. It is suggested that this signaling pathway is not involved in the repair of the impaired biosynthesis pathway for sphingolipids, but compensates for cellular dysfunctions caused by reduction in complex sphingolipid levels. This is a novel protection mechanism against aberrant metabolism of complex sphingolipids, and further investigation of the mechanism will provide new insights into the physiological significance of complex sphingolipids. Here, we summarize the response signaling against breakdown of sphingolipid biosynthesis in yeast, which includes the high osmolarity glycerol pathway.

Epidemiological, clinical and biochemical characterization of the p.(Ala359Asp) SMPD1 variant causing Niemann-Pick disease type B

Niemann-Pick disease type B (NPDB) is a rare, inherited lysosomal storage disorder that occurs due to variants in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) gene and the resultant deficiency of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) activity. While numerous variants causing NPDB have been described, only a small number have been studied in any detail. Herein, we describe the frequency of the p.(Ala359Asp) variant in the healthy Chilean population, and determine the haplotype background of homozygous patients to establish if this variant originated from a common founder. Genomic DNA samples from 1691 healthy individuals were analyzed for the p.(Ala359Asp) variant. The frequency of p.(Ala359Asp) was found to be 1/105.7, predicting a disease incidence of 1/44 960 in Chile, higher than the incidence estimated by the number of confirmed NPDB cases. We also describe the clinical characteristics of 13 patients homozygous for p.(Ala359Asp) and all of them had moderate to severe NPDB disease. In addition, a conserved haplotype and shared 280 Kb region around the SMPD1 gene was observed in the patients analyzed, indicating that the variant originated from a common ancestor. The haplotype frequency and mitochondrial DNA analysis suggest an Amerindian origin for the variant. To assess the effect of the p.(Ala359Asp) variant, we transfected cells with the ASM-p.(Ala359Asp) cDNA and the activity was only 4.2% compared with the wild-type cDNA, definitively demonstrating the causative effect of the variant on ASM function. Information on common variants such as p.(Ala359Asp) is essential to guide the successful implementation for future therapies and benefit to patients.

Factors and processes modulating phenotypes in neuronopathic lysosomal storage diseases

Lysosomal storage diseases are inherited metabolic disorders caused by genetic defects causing deficiency of various lysosomal proteins, and resultant accumulation of non-degraded compounds. They are multisystemic diseases, and in most of them (>70%) severe brain dysfunctions are evident. However, expression of various phenotypes in particular diseases is extremely variable, from non-neuronopathic to severely neurodegenerative in the deficiency of the same enzyme. Although all lysosomal storage diseases are monogenic, clear genotype-phenotype correlations occur only in some cases. In this article, we present an overview on various factors and processes, both general and specific for certain disorders, that can significantly modulate expression of phenotypes in these diseases. On the basis of recent reports describing studies on both animal models and clinical data, we propose a hypothesis that efficiency of production of compounds that cannot be degraded due to enzyme deficiency might be especially important in modulation of phenotypes of patients suffering from lysosomal storage diseases.

Ceramide synthases as potential targets for therapeutic intervention in human diseases

Ceramide is located at a key hub in the sphingolipid metabolic pathway and also acts as an important cellular signaling molecule. Ceramide contains one acyl chain which is attached to a sphingoid long chain base via an amide bond, with the acyl chain varying in length and degree of saturation. The identification of a family of six mammalian ceramide synthases (CerS) that synthesize ceramide with distinct acyl chains, has led to significant advances in our understanding of ceramide biology, including further delineation of the role of ceramide in various pathophysiologies in both mice and humans. Since ceramides, and the complex sphingolipids generated from ceramide, are implicated in disease, the CerS might potentially be novel targets for therapeutic intervention in the diseases in which the ceramide acyl chain length is altered. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled New Frontiers in Sphingolipid Biology.