Lipid composition of the cancer cell membrane
- PDF / 2,462,259 Bytes
- 22 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 40 Downloads / 242 Views
MINI-REVIEW
Lipid composition of the cancer cell membrane Wojciech Szlasa 1
&
Iga Zendran 1 & Aleksandra Zalesińska 1 & Mounir Tarek 2
&
Julita Kulbacka 3
Received: 20 March 2020 / Accepted: 10 July 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Cancer cell possesses numerous adaptations to resist the immune system response and chemotherapy. One of the most significant properties of the neoplastic cells is the altered lipid metabolism, and consequently, the abnormal cell membrane composition. Like in the case of phosphatidylcholine, these changes result in the modulation of certain enzymes and accumulation of energetic material, which could be used for a higher proliferation rate. The changes are so prominent, that some lipids, such as phosphatidylserines, could even be considered as the cancer biomarkers. Additionally, some changes of biophysical properties of cell membranes lead to the higher resistance to chemotherapy, and finally to the disturbances in signalling pathways. Namely, the increased levels of certain lipids, like for instance phosphatidylserine, lead to the attenuation of the immune system response. Also, changes in lipid saturation prevent the cells from demanding conditions of the microenvironment. Particularly interesting is the significance of cell membrane cholesterol content in the modulation of metastasis. This review paper discusses the roles of each lipid type in cancer physiology. The review combined theoretical data with clinical studies to show novel therapeutic options concerning the modulation of cell membranes in oncology. Keywords Lipid membrane . Membrane composition . Cancer cells
Introduction Cells in the body differ from each other to maintain the proper functioning of the tissues and organs, which they build. The lipid profile of the plasma membrane is a distinctive cell property and might be considered as characteristic for a specific cell type (Pradas 2018). Alterations arise from particular cell functions and are directly caused by increased production of various lipid components (Pradas 2018). The discussed differences include the variability of the polar head groups, as well as of the non-polar fatty acids (FA) hydrocarbon chains (Casares 2019). The head groups in the outer leaflet of the lipid bilayer can differ in simple organic compounds added to the phosphate group (choline, ethanolamine, serine). Nonpolar fatty acid moieties of the inner leaflet vary in
* Julita Kulbacka [email protected] 1
Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland
2
Université de Lorraine, CNRS, LPCT, F-54000 Nancy, France
3
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland
hydrocarbon tail length and double bonds number or position (Rothman 1977). The cell membrane is composed of lipids and proteins. It could either synthesise all the lipids, like hepatocytes or absorb the lipid fraction from lipoproteins circulating in the blood (Nagarajan 2019). The lipid content differs between tissues and depends on
Data Loading...