Article date: July 2012
By: Jeremy A Hengst, Jong K Yun in Volume 166, Issue 5, pages 1603-1604
A host of beneficial effects have been attributed to the red wine polyphenol, resveratrol. Foremost, among these are its anti‐cancer properties. Yet, the mechanism by which resveratrol achieves these effects are unknown. In this issueof the BJP, Lim et al. report that resveratrol and its higher order oligomers inhibit sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1). SphK1 is a key regulator of sphingolipid metabolism and alterations of this key metabolic pathway have been linked to many hyperproliferative diseases. This study identifies a target for the action of resveratrol and its higher order oligomers and opens the door to evaluation of SphK1 as a target for chemo‐prevention of cancer.
LINKED ARTICLE
This article is a commentary on Lim et al., pp. 1605–1616 of this issue. To view this paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2012.01862.x
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01898.x
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