Lysophosphatidic Acid and Lysophosphatidylserine, New Bioactive Lysophospholipids

Phospholipids function as major components of biological membranes as well as precursors of biologically active lipid messengers. It is well known that arachidonic acid attached at the sn-2 position of phosphoglycerides serves as a precursor of prostaglandins and leukotrienes. Recently, it has been recognized that lysophospholipids such as lysophosphatidic acid, sphingosine 1-phosphate, lysophosphatidylserine and monoglyceride also function as lipid messengers with a variety of biological activities. (omitted)