Hydrolysis of sphingomyelin

Lauer, S. A. Chatterjee, S. Haidar, K. Uptake and hydrolysis of sphingomyelin analogues in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red cells. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 2001, 115, 275-281. 

Cellular ceramide is generated either by hydrolysis of sphingomyelin or by de novo synthesis. Sphingomyelin hydrolysis is catalyzed by at least three different sphingomyelinases that are discriminated by their optimal pH acid, neutral, and alkaline sphingomyelinases. In the present manuscript we will focus on acid sphingomyelinase (ASM)-released ceramide. 

Hormonal lipids. We have already considered a number of hormones that are not water-soluble but may have to be transported by carrier proteins to their sites of action. These include retinoic acid (Box 22-A), metabolites of vitamin D (Box 22-C), and the plateletactivating factor (Box 8-A). The last functions in the brain311 as well as in blood. Hormonal lipids also include the prostaglandins (Fig. 21-7), leukotrienes, and lipoxins (Fig. 21-8). These are products of the eicosenoid cascade or network, which is activated by receptors linked to phospholipase C (Fig. 11-9). Cera-mide formed by hydrolysis of sphingomyelin initiates... 

Sphingomyelinase Manunats have several different enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin one of these enzymes requires zinc... 

The NGF receptors provide an example of bidirectional crosstalk. In the presence of TrkA receptors, p75 can participate in the formation of high affinity binding sites and enhanced neurotrophin responsiveness leading to a survival or differentiation signal. In the absence of TrkA receptors, p75 can generate, in only specific cell populations, a death signal. These activities include the induction of NFkB (Carter et al., 1996) the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to ceramide (Dobrowsky et al., 1995) and the pro-apoptotic functions attributed to p75. 

Zhang et al. studied a membrane reactor for the production of ceramide through sphingomyelin hydrolysis with phospholipase C from Clostridium perfringens. Ceramide has aroused considerable interest as an active component in both the pharmaceutical and the cosmetic industry. The enzymatic hydrolysis of sphingomyelin has proved a feasible method for the production... 

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