@article{BoertleinSchumacherKleuseretal.2019,
  author    = {B{\"o}rtlein, Charlene and Schumacher, Fabian and Kleuser, Burkhard and D{\"o}lken, Lars and Avota, Elita},
  title     = {Role of neutral sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM 2) in the control of T cell plasma membrane lipid composition and cholesterol homeostasis},
  series = {Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology},
  volume    = {7},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology},
  number    = {226},
  issn      = {2296-634X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fcell.2019.00226},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190596},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {The activity of neutral sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM2) to catalyze the conversion of sphingomyelin (SM) to ceramide and phosphocholine at the cytosolic leaflet of plasma membrane (PM) is important in T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. We recently identified PKCζ as a major NSM2 downstream effector which regulates microtubular polarization. It remained, however, unclear to what extent NSM2 activity affected overall composition of PM lipids and downstream effector lipids in antigen stimulated T cells. Here, we provide a detailed lipidomics analyses on PM fractions isolated from TCR stimulated wild type and NSM2 deficient (ΔNSM) Jurkat T cells. This revealed that in addition to that of sphingolipids, NSM2 depletion also affected concentrations of many other lipids. In particular, NSM2 ablation resulted in increase of lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) which both govern PM biophysical properties. Crucially, TCR dependent upregulation of the important T cell signaling lipid diacylglycerol (DAG), which is fundamental for activation of conventional and novel PKCs, was abolished in ΔNSM cells. Moreover, NSM2 activity was found to play an important role in PM cholesterol transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and production of cholesteryl esters (CE) there. Most importantly, CE accumulation was essential to sustain human T cell proliferation. Accordingly, inhibition of CE generating enzymes, the cholesterol acetyltransferases ACAT1/SOAT1 and ACAT2/SOAT2, impaired TCR driven expansion of both CD4\(^+\) and CD8\(^+\) T cells. In summary, our study reveals an important role of NSM2 in regulating T cell functions by its multiple effects on PM lipids and cholesterol homeostasis.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DeLiraRamanSchulzeetal.2020,
  author    = {De Lira, Maria Nathalia and Raman, Sudha Janaki and Schulze, Almut and Schneider-Schaulies, Sibylle and Avota, Elita},
  title     = {Neutral Sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM 2) Controls T Cell Metabolic Homeostasis and Reprogramming During Activation},
  series = {Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences},
  volume    = {7},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences},
  issn      = {2296-889X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fmolb.2020.00217},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-211311},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Neutral sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM2) is a member of a superfamily of enzymes responsible for conversion of sphingomyelin into phosphocholine and ceramide at the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane. Upon specific ablation of NSM2, T cells proved to be hyper-responsive to CD3/CD28 co-stimulation, indicating that the enzyme acts to dampen early overshooting activation of these cells. It remained unclear whether hyper-reactivity of NSM2-deficient T cells is supported by a deregulated metabolic activity in these cells. Here, we demonstrate that ablation of NSM2 activity affects metabolism of the quiescent CD4\(^+\) T cells which accumulate ATP in mitochondria and increase basal glycolytic activity. This supports enhanced production of total ATP and metabolic switch early after TCR/CD28 stimulation. Most interestingly, increased metabolic activity in resting NSM2-deficient T cells does not support sustained response upon stimulation. While elevated under steady-state conditions in NSM2-deficient CD4\(^+\) T cells, the mTORC1 pathway regulating mitochondria size, oxidative phosphorylation, and ATP production is impaired after 24 h of stimulation. Taken together, the absence of NSM2 promotes a hyperactive metabolic state in unstimulated CD4\(^+\) T cells yet fails to support sustained T cell responses upon antigenic stimulation.},
  language  = {en}
}