Regulation of glycosphingolipid levels: quantitative modeling of glycosphingolipid homeostasis

Human cells contain many fat and fat-like molecules. These fats, or "lipids", have all kinds of different chemical structures. On the basis of their chemical structures, human lipids can be grouped into a number of families. One of the lipid families, GS-lipids, is the focus of this research proposal. GS-lipids have essential roles in many biological processes, such as brain and skin development and immunity. Both too little as well as too much of GS-lipids have dramatic consequences, including blindness, epilepsy, male infertility and early death. Clearly, it is important that the cells in our bodies maintain just the right levels of GS-lipids. At the moment, however, we do not understand how cells manage the levels of their GS-lipids. That is why I plan to investigate the regulation of this type of lipids. I will use a number of different approaches to determine the rates of GS-lipid production and degradation in cultured cells. These studies will provide new insights in the cellular lipid household, which is an essential biochemical activity human cells. My research may further help to better understand the biological processes that are dependent on GS-lipids.