The effects of grape phytoestrogens on cholesterol accumulation were studied in primary culture of human blood monocytes incubated with blood serum from postmenopausal women obtained before and 2, 4, and 6 h after single intake of plant components of grapes. Phytoestrogens from grape seeds, pressed out grapes, and fermented grape ridges prevent cholesterol accumulation in cells and can be regarded as prospective components for the development of natural preparations for the prevention of atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women.

There is increasing evidence that different phospholipids are involved in regulation of various cell processes and cell-cell interactions. Lysophospholipids (lysophosphatidic acid, lysophosphatidylcholine) and a number of lysosphingolipids play particular roles in these regulations. Their effects are mediated by specific G-protein-coupled receptors. G-Protein coupled signal transduction to the cell nucleus involving a chain of intracellular protein kinases induces the main effects in cells--growth, proliferation, survival, or apoptosis. This review summarizes recent data on various groups of lysophospholipid receptors and their cell signal transduction pathways.

This review considers various functional aspects of cell sphingolipids (sphingomyelin, ceramides) and lysosphingolipids (sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and sphingosine phosphorylcholine). Good evidence now exists that they are actively involved in numerous cell-signaling processes. The enzymes responsible for formation and interconversion of cell sphingolipids (sphingomyelinases, ceramidase, sphingosine kinase, S1P-lyase) exhibit high sensitivity to various stimulating factors. This determines the content of individual cell sphingolipids and therefore the mode of cell response. Special attention is paid to preferential localization of sphingolipids in the rigid plasma membrane domains (rafts) coupled to many signal proteins. The suggestion is discussed that ceramide signaling may be based on the modification of fine molecular interactions in lipid rafts, resulting in its clusterization inducing the signal transduction. The review also highlights involvement of sphingolipids in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and in processes implicated to atherosclerosis.

A new modern stage in the development of lipid biochemistry is presented: lipidomics, which emerged on the basic of new highly sensitive fractionation methods, primarily, mass spectroscopy. Lipidomics is defined mainly as systemic evaluation of all molecular types of lipids in an object, their cell functions, and molecules with which they react. Lipidomic approaches identifying picomole levels of individual lipids in combination with modern genome technology provide detailed information about the involvement of minor phospholipids in the cell signaling processes. Brief data on the functions of lysophospholipids as second messengers of signal transfer, their effects on cell processes, and possible involvement in the pathogenesis of some diseases are presented. It is expected that introduction of lipidomics in biomedical studies will promote the detection of targets for new drugs and development of new diagnostic tests.

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