Lipids encompass a wide variety of unique molecular species functionally connected to several physiological processes and identified as candidate biomarkers of disease risk and progression in different pathological conditions.

Lipids regulate energy homeostasis and represent the major constituent of biological membranes. Moreover, membrane lipids and their products act as precursors for second messengers that are biologically connected to multiple cellular processes. Several studies have focused on the biological roles played by signaling lipids, such as phosphatidylinositols, diacylglycerols (DAG), sphingolipids, eicosanoids and fatty acids, and defined how these species may contribute to the pathogenesis of human diseases. For instance, protein kinase C, the biological target of DAG, is of relevance to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, differentiation and/or tumorigenesis. Another signaling lipid, phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) modulates cell growth and proliferation. Moreover, signaling lipids and lipid-metabolizing enzymes are important components of microvesicles thus playing a fundamental but still not completely understood role of extracellular messengers.

Overall, to understand the biological potentials of lipids, important questions have to be addressed regarding their mechanism of action. In light of this, the purpose of this Research Topic is to investigate the role of lipids in signal transduction. In addition, methodological articles related to the study of lipids, including recent advancements in mass spectrometry (MS)-based lipidomics, will be considered.

We specifically welcome articles (reviews and original research articles) on the following topics:
- role of lipids as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) ligands
- role of lipids and dietary fatty acids in signal transduction
- mechanisms by which lipids alter the activity of ion channels and transporters
- lipid metabolism reprogramming in health and disease
- signaling pathways involved with the regulation of lipid metabolism
- lipids in microvesicles biology
- systems-level approaches in lipid research

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Frontiers in Physiology

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