The primacy of lipids as essential components of cellular membranes is conserved across taxonomic domains. In addition to this crucial role as a semi-permeable barrier, lipids are also increasingly recognized as important signaling molecules with diverse functional mechanisms ranging from cell surface receptor binding to the intracellular regulation of enzymatic cascades. In this review, we focus on ether lipids, an ancient family of lipids having ether-linked structures that chemically differ from their more prevalent acyl relatives. In particular, we examine ether lipid biosynthesis in the peroxisome of mammalian cells, the roles of selected glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids in signal transduction in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and finally, the potential therapeutic contributions of synthetic ether lipids to the treatment of cancer.

中文翻译：

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生物活性醚脂质：细胞信号转导的原始调制器。

脂质作为细胞膜必不可少的组成部分在整个生物分类学领域都处于首要地位。除了作为半渗透性屏障的关键作用之外，脂质也日益被认为是重要的信号分子，具有多种功能机制，范围从细胞表面受体结合到酶联级联反应的细胞内调节。在这篇综述中，我们重点研究醚类脂，这是一种古老的类脂，具有与醚连接的结构在化学上与其更普遍的酰基亲戚不同。特别地，我们研究了哺乳动物细胞过氧化物酶体中醚脂质的生物合成，原核生物和真核生物在信号转导中所选甘油脂和甘油磷脂在信号传导中的作用，最后考察了合成醚脂质对癌症治疗的潜在治疗作用。