Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Preclinical and Clinical Evidence for the Involvement of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Signaling in the Pathophysiology of Vascular Cognitive Impairment

  • Review Paper
  • Published:
NeuroMolecular Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sphingosine 1-phosphates (S1Ps) are bioactive lipids that mediate a diverse range of effects through the activation of cognate receptors, S1P1–S1P5. Scrutiny of S1P-regulated pathways over the past three decades has identified important and occasionally counteracting functions in the brain and cerebrovascular system. For example, while S1P1 and S1P3 mediate proinflammatory effects on glial cells and directly promote endothelial cell barrier integrity, S1P2 is anti-inflammatory but disrupts barrier integrity. Cumulatively, there is significant preclinical evidence implicating critical roles for this pathway in regulating processes that drive cerebrovascular disease and vascular dementia, both being part of the continuum of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). This is supported by clinical studies that have identified correlations between alterations of S1P and cognitive deficits. We review studies which proposed and evaluated potential mechanisms by which such alterations contribute to pathological S1P signaling that leads to VCI-associated chronic neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Notably, S1P receptors have divergent but overlapping expression patterns and demonstrate complex interactions. Therefore, the net effect produced by S1P represents the cumulative contributions of S1P receptors acting additively, synergistically, or antagonistically on the neural, vascular, and immune cells of the brain. Ultimately, an optimized therapeutic strategy that targets S1P signaling will have to consider these complex interactions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

ApoM:

Apolipoprotein M

APP:

Amyloid precursor protein

Aβ:

Beta-amyloid

BACE1:

β-Secretase

BBB:

Blood–brain barrier

BCAS:

Bilateral carotid artery stenosis

CAA:

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy

CCAO:

Common carotid artery occlusion

CeVD:

Cerebrovascular disease

CNS:

Central nervous system

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

ERK:

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

HIF:

Hypoxia-inducible factors

HPC:

Hypoxic preconditioning

ICH:

Intracerebral hemorrhage

IL-1β:

Interleukin-1β

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

IL-8:

Interleukin-8

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase

MMP-9:

Matrix metalloproteinase 9

MS:

Multiple sclerosis

NIHSS:

National Institute of Health stroke scores

NPC:

Neural progenitor cells

OGD:

Oxygen–glucose deprivation

PLPP:

Lipid phosphate phosphatase

S1P:

Sphingosine 1-phosphate

S1P1 :

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1

S1P2 :

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2

S1P3 :

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 3

S1P4 :

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 4

S1P5 :

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 5

S1PR:

S1P receptors

SGPL1:

S1P lyase

SGPP:

Sphingosine 1-phosphate phosphatase

SPHK:

Sphingosine kinase

SPLIS:

S1P lyase insufficiency syndrome

tMCAO:

Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion

TNFα:

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha

tPA:

Tissue plasminogen activator

VaD:

Vascular dementia

VCI:

Vascular cognitive impairment

VSMC:

Vascular smooth muscle cells

WML:

White matter lesions

References

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Singapore (R-181-000-183-114, WYO and DRH), the National University Health System, Singapore (NUHSRO/2019/051/T1/Seed-Mar/04, WYO and DRH), and the National Medical Research Council, Singapore (NMRC/CSA/CSA-SI/007/2016, CPC, MKPL, and DRH).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mitchell K. P. Lai or Deron R. Herr.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chua, X.Y., Ho, L.T.Y., Xiang, P. et al. Preclinical and Clinical Evidence for the Involvement of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Signaling in the Pathophysiology of Vascular Cognitive Impairment. Neuromol Med 23, 47–67 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-020-08632-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-020-08632-0

Keywords

Navigation