Takahashi HK, Toledo MS, Suzuki E, Tagliari L, Straus AH Current relevance of fungal and trypanosomatid glycolipids and sphingolipids: studies defining structures conspicuously absent in mammals Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciências81(3) (2009)
477-488
NCBI PubMed ID:19722017 Publication DOI:10.1590/S0001-37652009000300012 Journal NLM ID:7503280 Publisher: Academia Brasileira De Ciencias Correspondence: Anita H. Straus <straus.bioqepm.br> Institutions: Setor de Imunoquímica de Glicoconjugados, Departamento de Bioquímica Ed. J.L. Prado, São Paulo, Brasil, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, São Paulo, Brasil
Recently, glycosphingolipids have been attracting attention due to their role on biological systems as second messengers or modulators of signal transduction, affecting several events, which range from apoptosis to regulation of the cell cycle. In pathogenic fungi, glycolipids are expressed in two classes: neutral monohexosylceramides (glucosyl-or galactosylceramide) and acidic glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides (the latter class carries longer glycan chains). It is worth to mention that monohexosylceramides exhibit significant structural differences in their lipid moieties compared to their mammalian counterparts, whereas the glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides exhibit remarkable structural differences in their carbohydrate moieties in comparison to mammal glycosphingolipids counterpart. We observed that glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides are capable of promoting immune response in infected humans. In addition, inhibiting fungal glycosphingolipid biosynthetic pathways leads to an inhibition of colony formation, spore germination, cell cycle, dimorphism and hyphal growth. Other pathogens, such as trypanosomatids, also present unique glycolipids, which may have an important role for the parasite development and/or disease establishment. Regarding host-pathogen interaction, cell membrane rafts, which are enriched in sphingolipids and sterols, participate in parasite/fungal infection. In this review, it is discussed the different biological roles of (glyco) (sphingo)lipids of pathogenic/opportunistic fungi and trypanosomatids.
Comments, role: review; neutral glycosphingolipids; 2S,3R-configuration of 9-methyl-4,8-sphingadienine (9b1SphdC19) was assumed basing on analogs; GSLs present in mycelium and yeast forms of S. schenckii; GSLs present in hyphae of A. fumigatus and A. nidulans.
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