Interactions of the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway with other lipid pathways
作者:C. Lang、M. Veen
DOI:10.1042/bst20051178
日期:2005.10.1
Micro-organisms have recently received broad attention as sources of novel lipids. An increased understanding of the effects of fats and oils and their composition on the metabolism and on health has shifted the focus towards the use of lipids for disease treatment and prevention and for the promotion of good health. A large range of lipidic products produced by yeast is known today. Ergosterol and its metabolic precursors are major lipidic components of industrial and commercial interest. Having in mind the aim to increase the productivity of ergosterol and its precursor metabolites, both the knowledge of regulatory mechanisms of the biosynthetic pathway and its interactions with other lipid pathways like those of sphingolipids, phospholipids and fatty acids are crucial.
Mutations in the human SC4MOL gene encoding a methyl sterol oxidase cause psoriasiform dermatitis, microcephaly, and developmental delay
作者:Miao He、Lisa E. Kratz、Joshua J. Michel、Abbe N. Vallejo、Laura Ferris、Richard I. Kelley、Jacqueline J. Hoover、Drazen Jukic、K. Michael Gibson、Lynne A. Wolfe、Dhanya Ramachandran、Michael E. Zwick、Jerry Vockley
DOI:10.1172/jci42650
日期:2011.3.1
Defects in cholesterol synthesis result in a wide variety of symptoms, from neonatal lethality to the relatively mild dysmorphic features and developmental delay found in individuals with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. We report here the identification of mutations in sterol-C4-methyl oxidase-like gene (SC4MOL) as the cause of an autosomal recessive syndrome in a human patient with psoriasiform dermatitis, arthralgias, congenital cataracts, microcephaly, and developmental delay. This gene encodes a sterol-C4-methyl oxidase (SMO), which catalyzes demethylation of C4-methylsterols in the cholesterol synthesis pathway. C4-Methylsterols are meiosis-activating sterols (MASs). They exist at high concentrations in the testis and ovary and play roles in meiosis activation. In this study, we found that an accumulation of MASs in the patient led to cell overproliferation in both skin and blood. SMO deficiency also substantially altered immunocyte phenotype and in vitro function. MASs serve as ligands for liver X receptors alpha and beta (LXR alpha and LXR beta), which are important in regulating not only lipid transport in the epidermis, but also innate and adaptive immunity. Deficiency of SMO represents a biochemical defect in the cholesterol synthesis pathway, the clinical spectrum of which remains to be defined.
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