title: Membrane lipid therapy: Modulation of the cell membrane composition and structure as a molecular base for drug discovery and new disease treatment.
abstract: Nowadays we understand cell membranes not as a simple double lipid layer but as a collection of complex and dynamic protein-lipid structures and microdomains that serve as functional platforms for interacting signaling lipids and proteins. Membrane lipids and lipid structures participate directly as messengers or regulators of signal transduction. In addition, protein-lipid interactions participate in the localization of signaling protein partners to specific membrane microdomains. Thus, lipid alterations change cell signaling that are associated with a variety of diseases including cancer, obesity, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular pathologies, etc. This article reviews the newly emerging field of membrane lipid therapy which involves the pharmacological regulation of membrane lipid composition and structure for the treatment of diseases. Membrane lipid therapy proposes the use of new molecules specifically designed to modify membrane lipid structures and microdomains as pharmaceutical disease-modifying agents by reversing the malfunction or altering the expression of disease-specific protein or lipid signal cascades. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of this emerging field, especially its molecular bases and its relevance to the development of innovative therapeutic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Escribá
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Busquets
authors.affiliation: Division of Glycopathology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Jin-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Inokuchi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balogh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Török
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ibolya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horváth
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, Wales, UK. Electronic address: Harwood@cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Harwood
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary. Electronic address: vigh@brc.hu.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vígh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D055808:Drug Discovery; D006801:Humans; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D008563:Membrane Lipids; D011493:Protein Kinase C
keywords: G protein-membrane interactions; Membrane cell signaling; Membrane lipid structure; Membrane-lipid therapy drugs; Membrane-protein interactions