Overview -- Sphingolipids Synthesis, Transport and Cellular Signaling -- Biosynthesis, Transport of Sphingolipids -- Serine Palmitoyltransferase -- Ceramide Synthase -- Dihydroceramide: Sphinganine ?4-Desaturase and C4-Hydroxylase -- Metabolizing Enzymes Such As Sphingomyelin Synthase Induce Cell Death by Increasing Ceramide Content -- Glucosylceramide and Galactosylceramide Synthase -- Synthesis, Metabolism, and Trans-Bilayer Movement of Long-Chain Base -- Molecular Mechanism of Ceramide Trafficking from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to the Golgi Apparatus in Mammalian Cells -- Sphingolipid Trafficking -- Current Perspectives on Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sphingolipids -- Generation and Degradation of Sphingolipid Signaling Molecules -- Generation of Signaling Molecules by De Novo Sphingolipid Synthesis -- Overview of Acid and Neutral Sphingomyelinases in Cell Signaling -- Neutral Ceramidase as an Integral Modulator for the Generation of S1P and S1P-Mediated Signaling -- Activation of Sphingosine Kinase 1 -- Ceramide 1-Phosphate -- Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Lyase -- Membrane Domain and Biological Function -- Close Interrelationship of Sphingomyelinase and Caveolin in Triton X-100-lnsoluble Membrane Microdomains -- Roles of Membrane Domains in the Signaling Pathway for B Cell Survival -- The Role of Lipid Rafts in Axon Growth and Guidance -- Sphingolipids and Multidrug Resistance of Cancer Cells -- Membrane Lipid Domain and Human Pathobiology -- A New Pathological Feature of Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes: Involvement of Ganglioside GM3 and Membrane Microdomains -- Neuronal Cell Death in Glycosphingolipidoses -- Endocytic Trafficking of Glycosphingolipids in Sphingolipidoses -- Ganglioside and Alzheimerâ€{u3804}isease -- Modulation of Proteolytic Processing by Glycosphingolipids Generates Amyloid ?-Peptide -- Hereditary Sensory Neuropathy -- Ceramide, Ceramide Kinase and Vision Defects: A BLIND Spot for LIPIDS -- Fumonisin Inhibition of Ceramide Synthase: A Possible Risk Factor for Human Neural Tube Defects -- Sphingolipids and Cancer -- S1P Signaling and SIPR -- Sphingosine-1-Phosphate and the Regulation of Immune Cell Trafficking -- Sphingolipids and Lung Vascular Barrier Regulation -- Signaling Mechanisms for Positive and Negative Regulation of Cell Motility by Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors -- Sphingosine 1-Phosphate-Related Metabolism in the Blood Vessel -- Advanced Technology in Sphingolipid Biology -- Conventional/Conditional Knockout Mice -- Biosynthesis and Function of Drosophila Glycosphingolipids -- Characterization of Genes Conferring Resistance Against ISP-1/Myriocin-Induced Sphingolipid Depletion in Yeast -- Lysenin: A New Probe for Sphingomyelin -- Structural Biology of Sphingolipid Synthesis -- A Computer Visualization Model for the De Novo Sphingolipid Biosynthetic Pathway.

Sphingolipids are fundamental to the structures of cell membranes, lipoproteins, and the stratum cornea of the skin. Many complex sphingolipids as well as simpler sphingoid bases and derivatives are highly bioactive as extra- and intracellular regulators of growth, differentiation, migration, survival, senescence, and numerous cellular responses to stress. This book provides many examples of exciting new developments in sphingolipid biology/sphingolipidology that are changing our understanding of how multicellular organisms grow, develop, function, age, and die. Key areas addressed include sphingolipid biosynthesis, transport and membrane organization/lipid rafts; genetic approaches to understanding the roles of membrane sphingolipid biosynthesis; sphingolipid metabolism, specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and signal transduction; and sphingolipid-associated disease and drug development.