Metabolism of HSAN1- and T2DM-associated 1-deoxy-sphingolipids inhibits the migration of fibroblasts

Hereditary sensory neuropathy type 1 (HSAN1) is a rare axonopathy, characterized by a progressive loss of sensation (pain, temperature, and vibration), neuropathic pain, and wound healing defects. HSAN1 is caused by several missense mutations in the serine palmitoyltransferase long-chain base subunit 1 and serine palmitoyltransferase long-chain base subunit 2 of the enzyme serine palmitoyltransferase—the key enzyme for the synthesis of sphingolipids. The mutations change the substrate specificity of serine palmitoyltransferase, which then forms an atypical class of 1-deoxy-sphinglipids (1-deoxySLs). Similarly, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus also present with elevated 1-deoxySLs and a comparable clinical phenotype. The effect of 1-deoxySLs on neuronal cells was investigated in detail, but their impact on other cell types remains elusive. Here, we investigated the consequences of externally added 1-deoxySLs on the migration of fibroblasts in a scratch assay as a simplified cellular wound-healing model. We showed that 1-deoxy-sphinganine (1-deoxySA) inhibits the migration of NIH-3T3 fibroblasts in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This was not seen for a non-native, L-threo stereoisomer. Supplemented 1-deoxySA was metabolized to 1-deoxy-(dihydro)ceramide and downstream to 1-deoxy-sphingosine. Inhibiting downstream metabolism by blocking N-acylation rescued the migration phenotype. In contrast, adding 1-deoxy-sphingosine had a lesser effect on cell migration but caused the massive formation of intracellular vacuoles. Further experiments showed that the effect on cell migration was primarily mediated by 1-deoxy-dihydroceramides rather than by the free base or 1-deoxyceramides. Based on these findings, we suggest that limiting the N-acylation of 1-deoxySA could be a therapeutic approach to improve cell migration and wound healing in patients with HSAN1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.