Possible involvement of sphingomyelin in the regulation of the plasma sphingosine 1-phosphate level in human subjects

Ryunosuke Ohkawa; Makoto Kurano; Yuko Mishima; Takahiro Nojiri; Yasunori Tokuhara; Tatsuya Kishimoto; Kazuhiro Nakamura; Shigeo Okubo; Shigemi Hosogaya; Yukio Ozaki; Hiromitsu Yokota; Koji Igarashi; Hitoshi Ikeda; Minoru Tozuka; Yutaka Yatomi

doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2015.03.019

Possible involvement of sphingomyelin in the regulation of the plasma sphingosine 1-phosphate level in human subjects

Clin Biochem. 2015 Jul;48(10-11):690-7. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2015.03.019. Epub 2015 Apr 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Analytical Laboratory Chemistry, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Transfusion Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Laboratory of Pathology, Department of Medical Technology, Kagawa Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Kagawa, Japan.
⁶ Diagnostics R&D Division, Alfresa Pharma Corporation, Osaka, Japan.
⁷ Department of Medical Technology, School of Health Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
⁹ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Clinical Laboratory Program Education Development Center Faculty of Science, Toho University, Chiba, Japan.
¹⁰ Bioscience Division, Reagent Development Department, AIA Research Group, TOSOH Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹² Analytical Laboratory Chemistry, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
¹³ Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 25863111
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2015.03.019

Abstract

Objectives: Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid mediator. Although the plasma S1P concentration is reportedly determined by cellular components, including erythrocytes, platelets, and vascular endothelial cells, the possible involvement of other factors, such as serum sphingomyelin (SM) and autotaxin (ATX), remains to be elucidated.

Design and methods: We measured S1P using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), SM and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) using enzymatic assays, ATX antigen using a two-site enzyme immunoassay, and ATX activity using a lysophospholipase D activity assay. To fractionate the lipoproteins, plasma samples were separated using fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) utilizing a Superose 6 column.

Results: The plasma S1P level was positively correlated with the levels of SM and lysophosphatidylcholine, but not with the level of phosphatidylcholine. Although SM was present in the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) fraction, neither the plasma S1P level nor the SM level was affected by feeding. The plasma S1P level was negatively correlated with the ATX activity. Although the incubation of 100 μmol/L of sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) with the serum resulted in a significant increase in the S1P level because of the presence of ATX, the physiological concentration of SPC did not mimic this effect.

Conclusion: The plasma S1P level was affected by the serum SM level, while the possibility of ATX involvement in the increase in the plasma S1P level was considered to be remote at least in healthy human subjects.

Keywords: Autotaxin; Sphingomyelin; Sphingosine 1-phosphate.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Biomarkers / blood
Female
Humans
Lysophospholipids / blood*
Male
Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / blood*
Sphingomyelins / blood*
Sphingosine / analogs & derivatives*
Sphingosine / blood

Substances

Biomarkers
Lysophospholipids
Sphingomyelins
sphingosine 1-phosphate
Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases
alkylglycerophosphoethanolamine phosphodiesterase
Sphingosine