Novel lysophosphoplipid receptors: their structure and function

It is now accepted that lysophospholipids (LysoGPs) have a wide variety of functions as lipid mediators that are exerted through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) specific to each lysophospholipid. While the roles of some LysoGPs, such as lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1-phosphate, have been thoroughly examined, little is known about the roles of several other LysoGPs, such as lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS), lysophosphatidylthreonine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), and lysophosphatidylglycerol. Recently, a GPCR was found for LPI (GPR55) and three GPCRs (GPR34/LPS1, P2Y10/LPS2, and GPR174/LPS3) were found for LysoPS. In this review, we focus on these newly identified GPCRs and summarize the actions of LysoPS and LPI as lipid mediators.