Sphingosine kinase

sphingosine kinase 1
Sphingosine kinase 1, hexamer, Human
Identifiers
Symbol	SPHK1
Entrez	8877
HUGO	11240
OMIM	603730
RefSeq	NM_182965
UniProt	Q9NYA1
Other data
EC number	2.7.1.91
Locus	Chr. 17 q25.2

Sphingosine kinase (SphK) is a conserved lipid kinase that catalyzes formation sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) from the precursor sphingolipid sphingosine. Sphingolipid metabolites, such as ceramide, sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate, are lipid second messengers involved in diverse cellular processes. There are two forms of SphK, SphK1 and SphK2. SphK1 is found in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells, and migrates to the plasma membrane upon activation. SphK2 is localized to the nucleus.

S1P has been shown to regulate diverse cellular processes. It has been characterized as a lipid signaling molecule with dual function. On one hand, it exerts its actions extracellularly by binding to the five different S1P receptors that couple to a variety of G-proteins to regulate diverse biological functions, ranging from cell growth and survival to effector functions, such as proinflammatory mediator synthesis. On the other hand, it appears to act as an intracellular second messenger, although the relevant molecular target(s) to which it binds within cells remains to be discovered. The role of S1P in various functions of cells and tissues is established, including regulation of cell survival and motility, angiogenesis, and inflammatory responses. Sphingosine kinases (SphKs) types 1 and 2, the two enzymes identified so far in mammals that produce S1P by ATP-dependent phosphorylation of sphingosine, have therefore received considerable interest.