Cell biology and pathophysiology of the diacylglycerol kinase family: morphological aspects in tissues and organs.

Diacylglycerol kinase phosphorylates diacylglycerol to produce phosphatidic acid. These lipids serve not only as intermediate products in the synthesis of several lipids but also as bioactive molecules. Therefore diacylglycerol kinase is thought to play one of the central roles in lipid signal transduction via the metabolism of two messenger molecules. Molecular and cellular studies have revealed that diacylglycerol kinase consists of a family of isozymes and each has a unique character in terms of regulatory mechanism, binding partner, and subcellular localization. This review focuses on pathophysiological findings of the enzyme family, principally from a morphological point of view in tissues and organs in animal studies, which helps us to develop a picture of how diacylglycerol kinase works in our body.