A new special section titled “Therapeutic Implications for Sphingolipids in Health and Disease” has been published in the latest issue of Molecular Pharmacology.

Sphingolipids are a family of lipids that first emerged as important signaling molecules nearly forty years ago. Since then, research into sphingolipids has made great strides in understanding the diversity of sphingolipid species as well as beginning to define their roles in several cellular functions. There is also a growing appreciation for how alterations in sphingolipid metabolism have been implicated in numerous disease states.

This special section includes five review and research articles that highlights the significance of sphingolipids in human disease and the potential for both sphingolipids and their metabolizing enzymes to serve either as therapeutic targets or as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. As the study of sphingolipids continues to become more sophisticated, these articles will serve as an excellent preview of the promise of the next forty years.

All content on “Therapeutic Implications for Sphingolipids in Health and Disease” is available in the March 2024 issue of Molecular Pharmacology and is freely accessible through September 2024.