The emerging role of Acid Sphingomyelinase in autophagy

Autophagy, the main intracellular process of cytoplasmic material degradation, is involved in cell survival and death. Autophagy is regulated at various levels and novel modulators of its function are being continuously identified. An intriguing recent observation is that among these modulators is t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Apoptosis (London) 2015-05, Vol.20 (5), p.635-644
Main Authors: Perrotta, Cristiana, Cervia, Davide, De Palma, Clara, Assi, Emma, Pellegrino, Paolo, Bassi, Maria Teresa, Clementi, Emilio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Autophagy
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cancer Research
Cardiovascular Diseases - enzymology
Cardiovascular Diseases - pathology
Cell Biology
Central Nervous System Diseases - enzymology
Central Nervous System Diseases - pathology
Humans
Neoplasms - enzymology
Neoplasms - pathology
Oncology
Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase - physiology
The Role of Sphingolipids and Lipid Rafts in Determining Cell Fate
Virology
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Summary:Autophagy, the main intracellular process of cytoplasmic material degradation, is involved in cell survival and death. Autophagy is regulated at various levels and novel modulators of its function are being continuously identified. An intriguing recent observation is that among these modulators is the sphingolipid metabolising enzyme, Acid Sphingomyelinase (A-SMase), already known to play a fundamental role in apoptotic cell death participating in several pathophysiological conditions. In this review we analyse and discuss the relationship between autophagy and A-SMase describing how A-SMase may regulate it and defining, for the first time, the existence of an A-SMase-autophagy axis. The imbalance of this axis plays a role in cancer, nervous system, cardiovascular, and hepatic disorders.
ISSN:1360-8185
1573-675X
DOI:10.1007/s10495-015-1101-9