Abstract

1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methylglycero-3-phosphocholine (ET-18-OMe) is an analogue of the naturally occurring 2- lysophosphatidylcholine belonging to the class of alkyllysophospholipids (ALPs). ALPs accumulate in cell membranes and can modulate phospholipid metabolism as well as signal transduction pathways, often inducing apoptosis. This review describes the effect of ET-18- OMe on cancer cell invasion. Interestingly, ET-18-OMe may inhibit invasion of cancer cells but can also stimulate invasive behavior of cancer cells. We discuss the biochemical alterations that are induced by ET-18-OMe under these circumstances and conclude that ET-18- OMe is an interesting tool to study mechanisms of tumor cell invasion since it has pointed to yet unknown aspects of these mechanisms.

Keywords: Alkyllysophospholipids, edelfosine, glycosylation, invasion, 2-lysophosphatidylcholine, signal transduction.