title: Sphingolipids in acute lung injury.
abstract: Acute lung injury is a life-threatening disease that is characterized by pulmonary inflammation, loss of barrier functions, and hypoxemia. Sphingolipids are critically involved in the disease process that they can both expedite and extenuate: They expedite inflammation by promoting chemotaxis (neutral sphingomyelinase), increased endothelial permeability (acid sphingomyelinase, S1P3-receptors), increased epithelial permeability (S1P2- and S1P3-receptors), and delaying neutrophil apoptosis (neutral sphingomyelinase, S1P1-receptors). They extenuate inflammation by attenuating chemotaxis (S1P) and by stabilizing the endothelial and the epithelial barrier (S1P1-receptor). This chapter discusses the multiple roles and therapeutic options that sphingolipids offer with respect to acute lung injury.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. suhlig@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uhlig
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000098:blood supply / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D013107:Sphingolipids