Neuron Review Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling in the Nervous System Yun C. Yung,1,3 Nicole C. Stoddard,1,2,3 Hope Mirendil,1 and Jerold Chun1,* 1Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA 2Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA 3Co-first author *Correspondence:
[email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.01.009 The brain is composed of many lipids with varied forms that serve not only as structural components but also as essential signaling molecules. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an important bioactive lipid species that is part of the lysophospholipid (LP) family. LPA is primarily derived from membrane phospholipids and signals through six cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), LPA1-6. These receptors are expressed on most cell types within central and peripheral nervous tissues and have been functionally linked to many neural pro- cesses and pathways. This Review covers a current understanding of LPA signaling in the nervous system, with particular focus on the relevance of LPA to both physiological and diseased states. Introduction LPA synthesis/degradative enzymes (reviewed in Sigal et al., The human brain is composed of approximately 60%–70% lipids 2005; Brindley and Pilquil, 2009; Perrakis and Moolenaar, by dry weight (Svennerholm et al., 1994). These lipids can be 2014). In view of the broad neurobiological influences of LPA divided into two major pools, structural and signaling, which signaling, its dysregulation may lead to diverse neuropathologies include well-known families such as cholesterol, fatty acids, ei- (Bandoh et al., 2000; Houben and Moolenaar, 2011; Yung et al., cosanoids, endocannabinoids, and prostaglandins (Figure 1).