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Yoshida K, Morishima Y, Ishii Y, Mastuzaka T, Shimano H, Hizawa N. Abnormal saturated fatty acids and sphingolipids metabolism in asthma. Respir Investig 2024; 62:526-530. [PMID: 38640569 DOI: 10.1016/j.resinv.2024.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Recent advances in fatty acid analysis have highlighted the links between lipid disruption and disease development. Lipid abnormalities are well-established risk factors for many of the most common chronic illnesses, and their involvement in asthma is also becoming clear. Here, we review research demonstrating the role of abnormal lipid metabolism in asthma, with a focus on saturated fatty acids and sphingolipids. High levels of palmitic acid, the most abundant saturated fatty acid in the human body, have been found in the airways of asthmatic patients with obesity, and were shown to worsen eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma model mice on a high-fat diet. Aside from being a building block of longer-chain fatty acids, palmitic acid is also the starting point for de novo synthesis of ceramides, a class of sphingolipids. We outline the three main pathways for the synthesis of ceramides, which have been linked to the severity of asthma and act as precursors for the dynamic lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). S1P signaling is involved in allergen-induced eosinophilic inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness, and immune-cell trafficking. A recent study of mice with mutations for the elongation of very long-chain fatty acid family member 6 (Elovl6), an enzyme that elongates fatty acid chains, has highlighted the potential role of palmitic acid composition, and thus lipid balance, in the pathophysiology of allergic airway inflammation. Elovl6 may be a potential therapeutic target in severe asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazufumi Yoshida
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
| | - Yuko Morishima
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan
| | - Yukio Ishii
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Hospital Organization Ibaraki Higashi National Hospital, 825 Terunuma, Tokai-Mura, Naka-Gun, Ibaraki, 319-1113, Japan
| | - Takashi Mastuzaka
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Shimano
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Hizawa
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan
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Nisticò C, Chiarella E. An Overview on Lipid Droplets Accumulation as Novel Target for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Therapy. Biomedicines 2023; 11:3186. [PMID: 38137407 PMCID: PMC10741140 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11123186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic reprogramming is a key alteration in tumorigenesis. In cancer cells, changes in metabolic fluxes are required to cope with large demands on ATP, NADPH, and NADH, as well as carbon skeletons. In particular, dysregulation in lipid metabolism ensures a great energy source for the cells and sustains cell membrane biogenesis and signaling molecules, which are necessary for tumor progression. Increased lipid uptake and synthesis results in intracellular lipid accumulation as lipid droplets (LDs), which in recent years have been considered hallmarks of malignancies. Here, we review current evidence implicating the biogenesis, composition, and functions of lipid droplets in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This is an aggressive hematological neoplasm originating from the abnormal expansion of myeloid progenitor cells in bone marrow and blood and can be fatal within a few months without treatment. LD accumulation positively correlates with a poor prognosis in AML since it involves the activation of oncogenic signaling pathways and cross-talk between the tumor microenvironment and leukemic cells. Targeting altered LD production could represent a potential therapeutic strategy in AML. From this perspective, we discuss the main inhibitors tested in in vitro AML cell models to block LD formation, which is often associated with leukemia aggressiveness and which may find clinical application in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clelia Nisticò
- Candiolo Cancer Institute, FPO-IRCCS, Department of Oncology, University of Torino, 10124 Candiolo, Italy
| | - Emanuela Chiarella
- Laboratory of Molecular Haematopoiesis and Stem Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University “Magna Græcia”, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
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