Ceramide Phosphates

Ceramide-1-phosphate is one of several important phosphosphingolipids in mammalian cells and is generated by the phosphorylation of ceramide by the enzyme ceramide kinase. Ceramide-1-phosphate attracted much attention in research due to its important cellular functions like its role in inflammation, as a novel second messenger, and its involvement in cellular processes like phagocytosis, potassium channel function, inflammatory responses, and tumorigenesis.¹ The first reported biological action of ceramide-1-phosphate was its ability to stimulate DNA synthesis and cell division. Ceramide-1-phosphate was also found to be mitogenic for both fibroblasts and macrophages.^2,3 Additionally, ceramide-1-phosphate stimulates the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)/protein kinase B (PKB) pathway, a major mechanism whereby growth factors promote cell survival.⁴

References:

1. E. Kooijman et al. "Structure of Ceramide-1-Phosphate at the Air-Water Solution Interface in the Absence and Presence of Ca2+" Journal of Biophysics, Vol. 96(6), pp. 2204-2215, 2009
2. R. Stahelin et al. "Ceramide-1-phosphate Binds Group IVA Cytosolic Phospholipase a2 via a Novel Site in the C2 Domain" The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 282(28) pp. 20467-20474, 2007
3. Arana, L. et al. "Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a key factor for stimulation of macrophage proliferation by ceramide 1-phosphate" Exp. Cell Res., Vol. 318(4) pp. 350-360, 2012
4. Gómez-Muñoz A. et al. "Ceramide-1-phosphate promotes cell survival through activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway" FEBS Lett., Vol. 579(17) pp. 3744-3750, 2005