Cockcroft, S;
(2021)
Mammalian lipids: structure, synthesis and function.
Essays in Biochemistry
10.1042/EBC20200067.
(In press).
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Abstract
Lipids are essential constituents of cellular membranes. Once regarded merely as structural components, lipids have taken centre stage with the discovery of their roles in cell signalling and in the generation of bioactive metabolites. Lipids regulate many physiological functions of cells and alterations in membrane lipid metabolism are associated with major diseases including cancer, Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and immune disorders. Understanding lipid diversity, their synthesis and metabolism to generate signalling molecules will provide insight into the fundamental function of the cell. This review summarises the biosynthesis of the lipids of the mammalian cell; phospholipids, sphingolipids and cholesterol and how lipid diversity is achieved. The fatty acids (FAs) are the main building blocks of lipids and contribute to the diversity. Lipid synthesis is intimately connected to their transport within cells; the contribution by proteins that transport lipids, lipid transport proteins will be described. Cellular lipids are metabolised by phospholipases, lipid kinases and phosphatases to make new bioactive metabolites. These transient bioactive metabolites allow cells to respond to the external environment to maintain cellular health. The function of individual metabolites is also highlighted. Bioactive metabolites can be second messengers, or released to the external medium to regulate other cells. Alternatively, bioactive lipids also provide a platform for reversible recruitment of proteins to membranes using their lipid-binding domains. The wide range of physiological processes in which a specific involvement of lipids has been identified explains the need for lipid diversity present in mammalian cells.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mammalian lipids: structure, synthesis and function |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1042/EBC20200067 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1042/EBC20200067 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Open access for this article was enabled by the participation of University College London in an all-inclusive Read & Publish pilot with Portland Press and the Biochemical Society under a transformative agreement with JISC. |
| Keywords: | Cholesterol, Signalling, phosphatidylinositol, phospholipases, sphingolipids |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Neuro, Physiology and Pharmacology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135673 |
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