Lysophosphatidic acid stimulates cell migration of satellite cells. A role for the sphingosine kinase/sphingosine 1-phosphate axis

Regulation of the motility of skeletal muscle precursor cells, such as satellite cells, is critically important for their proper recruitment at the site of tissue damage, and ultimately for its correct repair. Here we show that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which is well-recognized as a powerful bioactive agent, strongly stimulates cell migration of activated murine satellite cells. The biological effect exerted by LPA was found to be induced via activation of LPA(1) and LPA(3), being abolished by cell treatment with the antagonist Ki16425, and severely impaired by siRNA-mediated down-regulation of the two receptor isoforms. In contrast, silencing of LPA2 potentiated the stimulation of cell motility by LPA, suggesting that it is negatively coupled to cell migration. Pharmacological inhibition of both sphingosine kinase (SK) isoforms using VPC96047, or the selective blocking of SK1 using VPC96091, abolished cell responsiveness to LPA; in agreement, gene silencing of SK1 or SK2 significantly reduced the biological effect of LPA. Moreover, the LPA-dependent stimulation of cell chemotaxis was found to be impaired by down-regulation of the sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptors S1P(1) or S1P(4) by specific siRNAs. In summary, the results obtained support the notion that the sphingosine kinase/sphingosine 1-phosphate (SK/S1P) axis is critically involved in the mechanism by which LPA elicits its pro-migratory action. This study provides compelling new information on the regulatory mechanisms of satellite cell motility, and reinforces the view that the SK/S1P signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the control of skeletal muscle precursor cell biology.