Lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1-phosphate: two lipid villains provoking cardiovascular diseases?

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (SIP) are potent bioactive lipids with specific and multiple effects on cells of the vessel wall and blood platelets. In this paper we suggest that these lipid molecules are involved in atherogenesis, pathological vasoconstriction, plaque rupture, and intravascular thrombus formation, which leads us to propose new strategies for the prevention and therapy of cardiovascular diseases. The conclusions are hypothetical, in that the studies were so far mainly carried out on isolated cells or cultured cells in vitro and the results were extrapolated to the situation in vivo.