REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1673713
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Glycolipids and Sphingolipids in the Differentiation and Function of Innate Immune CellsView all 3 articles
Synthesis, Function and Therapeutic potential of Glycosphingolipids
Provisionally accepted
- 1st Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) constitute the most structurally diverse subgroup of the sphingolipid family and play crucial roles in a wide variety of cellular functions. The expression of GSLs is tightly controlled during development, with each GSL series exhibiting distinct functional roles in adhesion or signaling, depending on cell type. Genetic defects in lysosomal GSL-degrading enzymes result in GSL storage disorders. However, aberrant and increased expression of GSLs has also been observed in various cancer cells, promoting tumor survival and impairing anti-tumor immunity. Additionally, viruses, pathogens, and bacterial toxins have been found to bind to host GSLs. Therefore, inhibiting GSL synthesis could be a potential therapeutic strategy for such infections or cancers. Here, we discuss the synthesis and classification of GSLs and review their role in disease and treatment.
Keywords: Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), Sphingolipid metabolism, GSL storage disorders, Cancer, therapeutic targets
Received: 26 Jul 2025; Accepted: 16 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dong, Cao, Han and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Weidong Han, hanwdrsw@163.com
Zhiqiang Wu, wuzhiqiang1006@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.