There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Steroid hormones regulate various physiological processes including development, reproduction,
and metabolism. These regulatory molecules are synthesized from cholesterol in endocrine
organs - such as the adrenal glands and gonads - via a multi-step enzymatic process
that is catalyzed by the cytochrome P450 superfamily of monooxygenases and hydroxysteroid
dehydrogenases. Steroidogenesis is induced by trophic peptide hormones primarily via
the activation of a cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent pathway. However, other
signaling molecules, including cytokines and growth factors, control the steroid hormone
biosynthetic pathway. More recently, sphingolipids, including ceramide, sphingosine-1-phosphate,
and sphingosine, have been found to modulate steroid hormone secretion at multiple
levels. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the mechanisms by which sphingolipids
regulate steroidogenesis. In addition, we discuss how steroid hormones control sphingolipid
metabolism. Finally, we outline evidence supporting the emerging role of bioactive
sphingolipids in various nuclear processes and discuss a role for nuclear sphingolipid
metabolism in the control of gene transcription.
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.