Central service project - Analysis and Synthesis of sphingolipids

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Burkhard Kleuser
• Subject Area: Anatomy and Physiology
• Term: from 2007 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 39297424

The Central Service Project will focus on the analysis and synthesis of sphingolipids and will provide services for all participants in the priority program. Many complex sphingolipids, as well as simple sphingoid bases and derivatives, are highly bioactive as extracellular and intracellular regulators of growth, differentiation, migration, survival, senescence, and numerous cellular responses to stress. The dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolism is often associated with diseases such as inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, or neurodegeneration. For this reason it is important to quantify all of these compounds, or at least all members of a crucial subset. Thus, the Central Service Project has two aims: (i) It will provide identification and quantification of complex sphingolipids. (ii) Because of the promising therapeutic potential of sphingolipids, the service will synthesize essential sphingolipids that are not commercially available or will produce large amounts of specific sphingolipids that are necessary for experimental procedures. These aims require trained personnel, extensive experience, and expensive equipment; thus, these aims will be performed in a Central Service Project.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1267: Sphingolipids - Signals and Disease
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Markus van der Giet; Professor Dr. Erich Gulbins