Ceramide induced mitophagy and tumor suppression

Sphingolipids are bioactive lipid effectors, which are involved in the regulation of various cellular signaling pathways. Sphingolipids play essential roles in controlling cell inflammation, proliferation, death, migration, senescence, metastasis and autophagy. Alterations in sphingolipid metabolism have been also implicated in many human cancers. Macroautophagy (referred to here as autophagy) is a form of nonselective sequestering of cytosolic materials by double membrane structures, autophagosomes, which can be either protective or lethal for cells. Ceramide, a central molecule of sphingolipid metabolism is involved in the regulation of autophagy at various levels, including the induction of lethal mitophagy, a selective autophagy process to target and eliminate damaged mitochondria. In this review, we focused on recent studies with regard to the regulation of autophagy, in particular lethal mitophagy, by ceramide, and aimed at providing discussion points for various context-dependent roles and mechanisms of action of ceramide in controlling mitophagy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Mitophagy.