The molecular mechanism of sphingosine kinase activation

Funded Activity Summary

Many cell processes like growth, death and differentiation are controlled by hormones and other molecules that interact with receptors on the outside of the cell. When this type of molecule binds to a receptor, it often triggers the production of signaling molecules inside the cell that initiate a change in the cells behaviour. The lipid molecule, sphingosine phosphate has been identified as such a signaling molecule that appears to be involved in the regulation of a diverse array of important mammalian cellular processes. Recent studies have found that sphingosine phosphate is involved in the inflammation of cells, and if its production can be blocked, inflammation is not seen. Therefore, this provides a potential target for therapeutic intervention in the inflammation process. However, the manner by which cells regulate sphingosine phosphate levels is not well known. It is known that sphingosine phosphate is produced by the enzyme sphingosine kinase, and strong evidence suggests that changes in this enzyme's activity in the cell regulate sphingosine phosphate levels. However, how the cell changes the levels of sphingosine kinase activity is completely unknown. This study will investigate this problem with the view that understanding this process will allow the development of new drugs to block increases in sphingosine kinase activity, preventing increases in sphingosine phosphate levels, and it turn, preventing cellular inflammation.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2003

End Date: 01-01-2005

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $442,500.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Enzymes

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

atherosclerosis | cancer | enzyme regulation | inflammation | kinases | phosphorylation

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