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PubMed2001

Interaction of cholesterol with sphingomyelin in mixed membranes containing phosphatidylcholine, studied by spin-label ESR and IR spectroscopies. A possible stabilization of gel-phase sphingolipid domains by cholesterol.

The ESR spectra from different positional isomers of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine spin-labeled in their acyl chain have been studied in sphingomyelin(cerebroside)-phosphatidylcholine mixed membranes that contain cholesterol. The aim was to investigate mechanisms by which cholesterol could stabilize possible domain formation in sphingolipid-glycerolipid membranes. The outer hyperfine splittings in the ESR spectra of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine spin-labeled on the 5 C atom of the acyl chain were consistent with mixing of the components, but the perturbations on adding cholesterol were greater in the membranes containing sphingomyelin than in those containing phosphatidylcholine. Infrared spectra of the amide I band of egg sphingomyelin were shifted and broadened in the presence of cholesterol to a greater extent than the carbonyl band of phosphatidylcholine, which was affected very little by cholesterol. Two-component ESR spectra were observed from lipids spin-labeled on the 14 C atom of the acyl chain in cholesterol-containing membranes composed of sphingolipids, with or without glycerolipids (sphingomyelin/cerebroside and sphingomyelin/cerebroside/phosphatidylcholine mixtures). These results indicate the existence of gel-phase domains in otherwise liquid-ordered membranes that contain cholesterol. In the gel phase of egg sphingomyelin, the outer hyperfine splittings of sphingomyelin spin-labeled on the 14-C atom of the acyl chain are smaller than those for the corresponding spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine. In the presence of cholesterol, this situation is reversed; the outer splitting of 14-C spin-labeled sphingomyelin is then greater than that of 14-C spin-labeled phosphatidylcholine. This result provides some support for the suggestion that transbilayer interdigitation induced by cholesterol stabilizes the coexistence of gel-phase and "liquid-ordered" domains in membranes containing sphingolipids.

Brain Chemistry↗
PubMed1997

1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 induces sphingomyelin hydrolysis in HaCaT cells via tumor necrosis factor alpha.

Treatment of the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT with 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) resulted in the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin with peak elevations of ceramide levels after 2-3 h (Geilen, C. C., Bektas, M., Wieder, Th., and Orfanos, C. E. (1996) FEBS Lett. 378, 88-92). In the present paper, the mechanism underlying the effect of 1,25-(OH)2D3 on sphingomyelin hydrolysis was investigated. Using the cell culture supernatant of HaCaT cells treated with 1,25-(OH)2D3 for 2 h, it was possible to induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis as early as 30-60 min after addition to resting cells. Several lines of experimental evidence indicated that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) mediates sphingomyelin hydrolysis after 1,25-(OH)2D3 treatment: (i) 1,25-(OH)2D3 stimulated TNFalpha mRNA expression after 1 h, (ii) newly synthesized TNFalpha occurred 2 h after 1,25-(OH)2D3 treatment, (iii) indirect activation of sphingomyelin hydrolysis by the supernatant of 1, 25-(OH)2D3-treated HaCaT cells was abolished by preincubation of the supernatant with antibodies directed against TNFalpha, and (iv) preincubation of HaCaT cells with neutralizing antibodies directed against the 55-kDa receptor of TNFalpha blocked the ability of 1, 25-(OH)2D3 to induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis in HaCaT cells. These data demonstrate that 1,25-(OH)2D3 activated sphingomyelin hydrolysis by an autocrine mechanism via TNFalpha expression. Furthermore, this indirect mode of action may serve as an explanation for the delayed induction of sphingomyelin hydrolysis by vitamin D3.

Calcitriol↗
PubMed2000

Stimulation of cellular sphingomyelin import by the chemokine connective tissue-activating peptide III.

The selective import of phospholipids into cells could be mediated by proteins secreted from the cells into the extracellular compartment. We observed that the supernatants obtained from suspensions of thrombin-activated platelets stimulated the exchange of pyrene (py)-labeled sphingomyelin between lipid vesicles in vitro. The proteins with sphingomyelin transfer activity were purified and identified as the chemokine connective tissue-activating peptide III (CTAP-III) and platelet basic protein. Isolated CTAP-III stimulated the exchange of py-sphingomyelin between lipid vesicles but did not affect the translocations of py-labeled phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. CTAP-III rapidly increased the transfer of py-sphingomyelin from low density lipoproteins into peripheral blood lymphocytes, other immune cells, and fibroblasts. In the presence of heparin, CTAP-III was unable to insert sphingomyelin into the peripheral blood lymphocytes. The activation energy of the py-sphingomyelin transfer suggested that the translocation proceeded entirely in a hydrophobic environment. [(3)H]Sphingomyelin transferred to the cells by CTAP-III was hydrolyzed to [(3)H]ceramide and [(3)H]sphingosine after activation with tumor necrosis factor alpha. The generation of the [(3)H]sphingolipid messengers was catalyzed by acid sphingomyelinase. Our results identify CTAP-III as the first mediator of the selective (endocytosis-independent) cellular import of sphingomyelin allowing the paracrine modulation of the sphingolipid signaling.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1985

Intracellular translocation of fluorescent sphingolipids in cultured fibroblasts: endogenously synthesized sphingomyelin and glucocerebroside analogues pass through the Golgi apparatus en route to the plasma membrane.

When monolayer cultures of Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts are briefly incubated at 2 degrees C with the fluorescent sphingolipid analogue, C6-NBD-ceramide (N- [7-(4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole)] aminocaproyl sphingosine), fluorescent labeling of the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear envelope occur. During further incubation at 37 degrees C, the Golgi apparatus, and later the plasma membrane, become intensely fluorescent. Within this period, the C6-NBD-ceramide is converted to equal amounts of fluorescent sphingomyelin and glucocerebroside (Lipsky, N. G., and R. E. Pagano, 1983, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 80:2608-2612). In the present study, the intracellular translocation of these metabolites and their subsequent appearance at the plasma membrane were investigated by fluorescence microscopy, the addition of the ionophore monensin, and the technique of "back exchange," in which the amounts and types of fluorescent lipids present at the cell surface are identified after their transfer from the cell surface into recipient vesicles. In control cells, the amount of fluorescent glucocerebroside and sphingomyelin that could be removed from the cell surface by back exchange increased during incubation at 37 degrees C, correlating with the increased fluorescence of the plasma membrane observed by microscopy. In the presence of 10 microM monensin, visible labeling of the plasma membrane was greatly diminished, whereas the Golgi apparatus became highly fluorescent and distended. The ability to remove fluorescent metabolites from the cell surface by back exchange was significantly but reversibly inhibited by monensin. Monensin also increased the total amount of fluorescent sphingomyelin, but not the glucocerebroside found in cells. Subcellular fractions were assayed for their ability to convert radiolabeled and fluorescent ceramides to the corresponding sphingomyelins and glucocerebrosides. The activities of parallel fractions coincided, suggesting that the presence of the NBD moiety did not affect the cellular metabolism of ceramide. Furthermore, the major peak of sphingomyelin- and glucocerebroside-synthesizing activity appeared to coincide with an enriched Golgi fraction. These results strongly suggest that fluorescent sphingomyelin was not synthesized at the plasma membrane as has recently been suggested for endogenous sphingomyelin. Rather, both the sphingomyelin and glucocerebroside analogues were synthesized intracellularly from C6-NBD-ceramide and translocated through the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Sphingomyelin biosynthesis and efflux correlates with cholesterol metabolism and is higher in vascular endothelial cells than in smooth muscle cells.

We compared the metabolism of cellular phospholipids in bovine aortic endothelial and smooth muscle cells in culture. [3H]Choline was incorporated in both cell types into phosphatidylcholine (86-90%) and sphingomyelin (10-14%). Endothelial cells demonstrated preferential efflux of sphingomyelin which represented 22.5% of the radiolabelled phospholipids in the incubation medium while in smooth muscle cells it represented 10%, so that after 7 days, the sphingomyelin in the medium represented 40% and 16% of total synthesized sphingomyelin in endothelial and smooth muscle cells, respectively. Incorporation of [3H]choline by endothelial and smooth muscle cells was reduced in the presence of serum, but not in the presence of lipoprotein deficient serum, indicating that cells can acquire phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin from lipoproteins. Lipoproteins were shown also to support the efflux of cellular radiolabelled phospholipids from both cell types, but at a higher degree from endothelial cells than from smooth muscle cells. Exposure of these cultures to cholesterol rich serum increased the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, and to a higher extent of sphingomyelin, with concomitant decrease in the efflux of these two phospholipids. These results demonstrate the role of cholesterol in the regulation of phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin biosynthesis and efflux in vascular cells. Furthermore, the higher efflux of sphingomyelin in endothelial cells than in smooth muscle cells may support the extensive efflux of cholesterol observed in endothelial cells and indicate biochemical differences in lipid metabolism between vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Preparation of fluorescence-labeled GM1 and sphingomyelin by the reverse hydrolysis reaction of sphingolipid ceramide N-deacylase as substrates for assay of sphingolipid-degrading enzymes and for detection of sphingolipid-binding proteins.

Sphingolipid ceramide N-deacylase is an enzyme capable of hydrolyzing the N-acyl linkages of ceramides of various sphingolipids. Recently, it was found that the enzyme catalyzes the reverse hydrolysis reaction in which free fatty acids are condensed to lyso-sphingolipids to produce sphingolipids. This paper describes a simple method for the synthesis of fluorescence-labeled sphingolipids utilizing the condensation reaction of the enzyme. N-TFAc-aminododecanoic acids were efficiently condensed by the enzyme to the lyso-forms of GM1 and sphingomyelin in glycine buffer (pH 10). The reaction products, N-TFAc-amino-GM1 and sphingomyelin, were obtained with overall yields of 60%. The purified products were identified to be omega-amino-GM1 and omega-amino-sphingomyelin, respectively, by TLC and FAB-MS or ESI-LC/MS analysis after removal of the N-TFAc by mild alkaline treatment. NBD-labeled GM1 and sphingomyelin were prepared from omega-amino-GM1 and omega-amino-sphingomyelin by coupling with 4-fluoro-NBD. These fluorescence-labeled substrates, C12-NBD-GM1 and C12-NBD-sphingomyelin, were hydrolyzed by endoglycoceramidase and sphingomyelinase, respectively, to produce NBD-dodecanoylsphingosines, but were resistant to hydrolysis by sphingolipid ceramide N-deacylase. C12-NBD-sphingomyelin was found to be a better substrate than the commercially available C6-NBD-sphingomyelin for the assay of sphingomyelinase from various sources. We also describe a new method to detect GM1-binding proteins using fluorescence-labeled GM1.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1989

Uptake and utilization of double-labeled high-density lipoprotein sphingomyelin in isolated brain capillaries of adult rats.

Isolated rat brain capillaries were incubated in the presence of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) containing [stearic acid-14C, (methyl-3H)choline]sphingomyelin. This double-labeled sphingomyelin was taken up in a concentration-dependent manner. Cerebral capillary-associated sphingomyelin had a 3H/14C ratio close to that of the incubation medium, a result indicating uptake of sphingomyelin without prior hydrolysis. TLC of lipid extracted from capillaries showed that part of the sphingomyelin (up to 40%) was hydrolyzed in the brain capillaries to ceramide and free fatty acids. The hydrolysis was proportional to the amount of incorporated sphingomyelin and reached a plateau when the HDL sphingomyelin concentration in the medium was 237 nmol/ml. The results of "pulse-chase" experiments showed that the choline moiety of sphingomyelin was recovered in the incubation medium after the chase period and that there was no redistribution of liberated choline in phosphatidyl-choline of capillaries.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Human high denisty apolipoprotein A-I-lysolecithin-lecithin and sphingomyelin complexes. A method for high yield recombinations to lipoprotein complexes of reproducible stoichiometry.

High denisty apolipoprotein A-1 (apoLp A-I) has been prepared in a chromatographically and immunochemically homogeneous form. This apoprotein forms trimeric and tetrameric aggregates in aqueous solutions at higher concentrations. ApoLp A-I has been recombined in almost quantitative yield in the presence of lysolecithin with phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin to particles of reproducible stoichiometry. Lysolecithin is not required for the interactions of lecithin and sphingomyelin with the apoprotein A-I or for the stability of these complexes. Dialysis removes most of the lysolecithin without the loss of lecithin and sphingomyelin. ApoLp A-I-lecithin particles have a molecular weight of 200 000 and contain 50 molecules lecithin and 25 of lysolecithin. ApoLp A-I-sphingomyelin complexes contain 50 sphingomyelin and 13 lysolecithin molecules. The former particles show up as discs of 100 A diameter, and the latter particles are 250 A in diameter. Their thickness was estimated as 25 A in the apoLp A-I lecithin and 60 A in the apoLp A-I-sphingomyelin particles. ApoLp A-I and lysolecithin form complexes whose densities depend on the lysolecithin concentration. Lysolecithin enhances the binding of phosphatidylcholine to apoLP A-I, yielding lipoprotein complexes with decreasing density. The yield of apoLp A-I-sphingomyelin-lysolecithin complexes is proportional to the lysolecithin concentration. The ratio of apoLp A-I to sphingomyelin in all these complexes remains constant.

Apoproteins↗
PubMed1999

Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing the oxysterol binding protein (OSBP) display enhanced synthesis of sphingomyelin in response to 25-hydroxycholesterol.

25-Hydroxycholesterol negatively regulates cholesterol synthesis and activates cholesterol esterification in a variety of cultured cells. Concurrent with these effects, 25-hydroxycholesterol also stimulates the synthesis of sphingomyelin in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells. The role of oxysterol binding protein (OSBP), a high affinity receptor for 25-hydroxycholesterol, in activation of SM synthesis was assessed by overexpression in CHO-K1 cells. When compared to mock transfected controls, three CHO-K1 clones overexpressing OSBP by 10- to 15-fold displayed a 2- to 3-fold enhancement of [3H]serine incorporation into sphingomyelin when treated with 25-hydroxycholesterol. Closer examination of one of these clones (CHO-OSBP cells) revealed a >8.5-fold stimulation of sphingomyelin synthesis after a 6-h treatment with 25-hydroxycholesterol compared to 3.5-fold in controls, slightly higher basal levels of sphingomyelin synthesis, and a more rapid response to 25-hydroxycholesterol. [3H]serine incorporation into phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, ceramide, or glucosylceramide was affected by <15%. Synthesis of sphingomyelin from exogenous [3H]sphinganine-labeled ceramide was enhanced in overexpressing cells treated with 25-hydroxycholesterol. However, in vitro activities of sphinganine N-acyltransferase, sphingomyelin synthase, and serine palmitoyltransferase were not affected by OSBP overexpression or 25-hydroxycholesterol. Overexpression of OSBP or 25-hydroxycholesterol did not significantly affect the ceramide content of Golgi-enriched fractions from control or overexpressing cells. However, diglyceride mass was reduced in Golgi-enriched fractions from overexpressing cells and by treatment with 25-hydroxycholesterol. Results from overexpressing cells show that OSBP potentiates the stimulatory effects of 25-hydroxycholesterol on sphingomyelin synthesis. 25-Hydroxycholesterol promotes translocation of OSBP to the Golgi apparatus where it appears to stimulate conversion of ceramide to sphingomyelin.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Nuclear membrane sphingomyelin-cholesterol changes in rat liver after hepatectomy.

Sphingomyelin and cholesterol play an important role in stabilising the plasma membranes architecture and in many physiological process such as cell growth and differentiation. Degradation of sphingomyelin by exogenous sphingomyelinase induces a decrease of cholesterol due either to an increase of esterification or to a reduced biosynthesis. Variations of sphingomyelin due to the presence of a neutral-sphingomyelinase and of sphingomyelin-synthase have been recently shown in rat liver nuclear membranes. The aim of this research is to study the relation between sphingomyelin and cholesterol in the nuclear membranes following sphingomyelinase activation and during cell proliferation. The nuclear membranes, isolated from liver nuclei, were analysed for their content in protein, nucleic acids, and lipids (sphingomyelin and cholesterol) before and after sphingomyelinase activation and during hepatic regeneration. The activities of nuclear membrane SM-syntase and sphingomyelinase were also determined. The results confirmed that also in the nuclear membranes sphingomyelinase, especially exogenous, causes a strong decrease in cholesterol. The increase observed of sphingomyelin during the first 18 h after hepatectomy followed by a decrease at 24 h, due to the different activity of the enzymes, is accompanied by similar behaviour of cholesterol. This confirms the effect of neutral-sphingomyelinase on cholesterol, due to an increase of esterification process. Changes in cholesterol content modify the nuclear membranes fluidity and, as consequence, mRNA transport as previously shown. It can therefore be concluded that the neutral sphingomyelinase, present in the nuclei, may, across this mechanism, regulate the cell function.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Degradation of fluorescent and radiolabelled sphingomyelins in intact cells by a non-lysosomal pathway.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the entitled neutral, sphingomyelinase in the non-lysosomal pathway of sphingomyelin degradation by intact cells (Spence et al. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 8595-8600; Levade et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 13519-13529). The uptake and degradation of sphingomyelin by intact living cells was studied using cell lines exhibiting a wide range of activity levels of acid, lysosomal and neutral sphingomyelinases as determined in vitro on cell homogenates by their respective standard assays. For this purpose, neuroblastoma, skin fibroblasts, lymphoid and leukemic cell lines, some of them derived from patients with Niemann-Pick disease (deficient in the acid, lysosomal sphingomyelinase) were incubated with radioactive, [oleoyl-3H]sphingomyelin or fluorescent, pyrene-sulfonylaminoundecanoyl-sphingomyelin. Either compound was taken up by a pathway which was not receptor-mediated and hydrolyzed by all intact cells, including those derived from Niemann-Pick disease patients. Moreover, their degradation by the intact cells was not inhibited by treatment with chloroquine, indicating hydrolysis by a non-lysosomal sphingomyelinase. The intracellular sphingomyelin degradation rates showed no correlation with the activity of the 'classical' neutral sphingomyelinase as determined in vitro. In particular, fibroblasts derived from Niemann-Pick patients lacking the lysosomal sphingomyelinase, and having no detectable in vitro activity of the 'classical' neutral sphingomyelinase, were able to degrade the exogenously supplied sphingomyelins. Indeed, in vitro these cells were shown to exhibit neutral, magnesium- and dithiothreitol-dependent sphingomyelinase activities, that might contribute to the non-lysosomal pathway for sphingomyelin degradation to ceramide in intact cells.

Bridged-Ring Compounds↗
PubMed2002

Sphingomyelinase cleavage of sphingomyelin in pure and mixed lipid membranes. Influence of the physical state of the sphingolipid.

Sphingomyelin hydrolysis by sphingomyelinase is essential in regulating membrane levels of ceramide, a well-known metabolic signal. Since natural sphingomyelins have a gel-to-fluid transition temperature in the range of the physiological temperatures of mammals and birds, it is important to understand the influence of the physical state of the lipid on the enzyme activity. With that aim, large unilamellar vesicles consisting of pure egg sphingomyelin (gel-to-fluid crystalline transition temperature ca. 39 degrees C) were treated with sphingomyelinase in the temperature range 10-70 degrees C. The vesicles were also examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Shingomyelinase was active on pure sphingomyelin bilayers, leading to concomitant lipid hydrolysis, vesicle aggregation, and leakage of aqueous liposomal contents. Enzyme activity was found to be much higher when the substrate was in the fluid than when it was in the gel state. Sphingomyelinase activity was found to exhibit lag times, followed by bursts of activity. Lag times decreased markedly when the substrate went from the gel to the fluid state. When egg phosphatidylcholine, or egg phosphatidylethanolamine were included in the bilayer composition together with sphingomyelin, sphingomyelinase activity at 37 degrees C, that was negligible for the pure sphingolipid bilayers, was seen to increase with the proportion of glycerophospholipid, while the latency times became progressively shorter. A DSC study of the mixed-lipid vesicles revealed that both phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidyletanolamine decreased in a dose-dependent way the transition temperature of sphingomyelin. Thus, as those glycerophospholipids were added to the membrane composition, the proportion of sphingomyelin in the fluid state at 37 degrees C increased accordingly, in this way becoming amenable to rapid hydrolysis by the enzyme. Thus sphingomyelinase requires the substrate in bilayer form to be in the fluid state, irrespective of whether this is achieved through a thermotropic transition or by modulating bilayer composition.

Bacillus cereus↗
PubMed2001

Effects of reduced and oxidized glutathione on sphingomyelinase activity and contents of sphingomyelin and lipid peroxidation products in murine liver.

Like the phosphatidyl inositol cycle, the sphingomyelin cycle produces a series of the secondary messengers transmitting extracellular signals from the cytoplasmic membrane into the nucleus. Sphingomyelin, ceramide, sphingosine, sphingomyelinase, and ceramidase are the main components of the sphingomyelin cycle. In spite of numerous data on the functional properties of sphingomyelin cycle products, the activation mechanism for the key enzyme of the sphingomyelin cycle, sphingomyelinase (SMase), is not well understood. We have discovered effects of both reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione on the activity of neutral SMase in animals. GSH administration (18 mg per mouse) inhibits this enzymatic activity in liver for 2 h and increases the sphingomyelin level exactly as occurs in cell culture. The levels of diene conjugates and ketodienes decrease simultaneously during the experiment, thus indicating the ability of GSH to suppress oxidative processes in the cell. GSSG administration (18 mg per mouse) has no effect on the SMase activity during the first 15 min, but increases it twofold after 1 h. A short-term decrease in this activity after 30 min may depend on the conversion of excess GSSG into its reduced form by glutathione reductase. Unlike GSH, GSSG has no effect on the level of ketodienes after 1 h, but it induces the accumulation of diene conjugates. A strong correlation exists between the changes in SMase activity and in the level of oxidation products caused by either GSH or GSSG. These data indicate a relationship between SMase activity and the level of peroxidation products and possibly a relation between two signaling systems: the sphingomyelin cycle and the oxidative system.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Release of ceramide after membrane sphingomyelin hydrolysis decreases the basolateral secretion of triacylglycerol and apolipoprotein B in cultured human intestinal cells.

The effect of sphingomyelin hydrolysis on triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein secretion was examined in the human intestinal cell line, CaCo-2. Addition of sphingomyelinase decreased sphingomyelin and phosphatidylethanolamine by 60 and 20%, respectively. Sphingomyelin hydrolysis decreased the basolateral secretion of triacylglycerol mass, newly synthesized triacylglycerol, and apo B mass. Pulse-chase experiments with [35S]methionine demonstrated a decrease in apo B synthesis and a marked decrease in apo B100 and apo B48 secretion without altering apo A1 secretion. Sphingomyelin hydrolysis did not change apo B mRNA levels nor apo B turnover. Phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C did not decrease apo B synthesis or its basolateral secretion. Membrane protein kinase C (PKC) activity was decreased twofold after sphingomyelin hydrolysis. The PKC inhibitor staurosporine decreased apo B mass and newly synthesized apo B secretion. Sphingomyelinase and staurosporine together caused an additional decrease in apo B secretion suggesting that sphingomyelin hydrolysis decreased apo B secretion independently of its effect on PKC activity. Moreover, conditions that increase PKC activity did not increase apo B secretion. Cell-permeable analogs of ceramide decreased immunoreactive apo B secretion. Sphingosine was without effect. The hydrolysis of membrane sphingomyelin by intestinal or pancreatic neutral sphingomyelinase may lead to the accumulation of cellular ceramide, which, in turn, could inhibit triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein secretion.

Apolipoproteins B↗
PubMed2005

A lipid analogue that inhibits sphingomyelin hydrolysis and synthesis, increases ceramide, and leads to cell death.

We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel thiourea derivative of sphingomyelin (AD2765). In vitro assays using pure enzyme and/or cell extracts revealed that this compound inhibited the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated or 14C-labeled sphingomyelin by acid sphingomyelinase and Mg2+-dependent neutral sphingomyelinase. Studies in normal human skin fibroblasts further revealed that AD2765 was taken up by cells and inhibited the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated sphingomyelin in situ. In situ and in vitro studies also showed that this compound inhibited the synthesis of sphingomyelin from BODIPY-conjugated ceramide. The specificity of AD2765 for enzymes involved in sphingomyelin metabolism was demonstrated by the fact that it had no effect on the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated ceramide by acid ceramidase or on the synthesis of BODIPY-conjugated glucosylceramide from BODIPY-conjugated ceramide. The overall effect of AD2765 on sphingomyelin metabolism was concentration-dependent, and treatment of normal human skin fibroblasts or cancer cells with this compound at concentrations > 10 microM led to an increase in cellular ceramide and cell death. Thus, AD2765 might be used to manipulate sphingomyelin metabolism in various ways, potentially to reduce substrate accumulation in cells from types A and B Niemann-Pick disease patients, and/or to affect the growth of human cancer cells.

Boron Compounds↗
PubMed1989

Sphingomyelin turnover induced by vitamin D3 in HL-60 cells. Role in cell differentiation.

Sphingolipid metabolism was examined in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Differentiation of HL-60 cells with 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3; 100 nM) was accompanied by sphingomyelin turnover. Maximum turnover of [3H]choline-labeled sphingomyelin occurred 2 h following vitamin D3 treatment, with sphingomyelin levels decreasing to 77 +/- 6% of control and returning to base-line levels by 4 h. Ceramide and phosphorylcholine were concomitantly generated. Ceramide mass levels increased by 55% at 2 h following vitamin D3 treatment and returned to base-line levels by 4 h. The amount of phosphorylcholine produced equaled the amount of sphingomyelin hydrolyzed, suggesting the involvement of a sphingomyelinase. Vitamin D3 treatment resulted in a 90% increase in the activity of a neutral sphingomyelinase from HL-60 cells. The inferred role of sphingomyelin hydrolysis in the induction of cell differentiation was investigated using an exogenous sphingomyelinase. When a bacterial sphingomyelinase was added at concentrations that caused a similar degree of sphingomyelin hydrolysis as 100 nM vitamin D3, it enhanced the ability of subthreshold levels of vitamin D3 to induce HL-60 cell differentiation. This study demonstrates the existence of a "sphingomyelin cycle" in human cells. Such sphingolipid cycles (Hannun, Y., and Bell, R. (1989) Science 243, 500-507) may function in a signal transduction pathway and in cellular differentiation.

Calcitriol↗
PubMed1983

The sphingomyelin pools in the outer and inner layer of the human erythrocyte membrane are composed of different molecular species.

Analyses of the fatty acid composition of the outer and inner pools of sphingomyelin in the human erythrocyte membrane revealed significant differences in molecular species composition of these two pools. The sphingomyelin in the inner monolayer, representing 15-20% of the total sphingomyelin content of this membrane, is characterized by a relatively high content (73%) of fatty acids, which have less than 20 carbon atoms, whereas these account for only 31% of the total fatty acids in the sphingomyelin in the outer leaflet. On the other hand, the ratio saturated/unsaturated fatty acids in the two pools is similar. Significant differences are also observed for the fatty acid composition of the sphingomyelin in human serum when compared to that in the outer monolayer of the corresponding red cell. These results are interpreted to indicate an (almost) complete absence of transbilayer movements of sphingomyelin molecules in the human erythrocyte membrane, whereas an exchange of this phospholipid between the red cell membrane and serum is either virtually absent, or affects only a minor fraction of the sphingomyelin in the outer membrane layer.

Erythrocyte Membrane↗
PubMed1994

Synthesis of surface sphingomyelin in the plasma membrane recycling pathway of BHK cells.

Sphingomyelin, which has been degraded at the BHK cell surface by exogenous sphingomyelinase, is converted back into sphingomyelin with kinetics similar to those of plasma membrane recycling. Resynthesis of sphingomyelin under these conditions proceeds at a rate about 4-fold higher than normal biosynthesis of sphingomyelin. Neither resynthesis of sphingomyelin nor its return to the surface is inhibited by brefeldin A (BFA), which is a potent blocker of vesicular transport through the Golgi but has no effect on plasma membrane recycling. However, resynthesis of plasma membrane sphingomyelin is greatly decreased in cells undergoing mitosis or energy depletion, where endocytosis is inhibited. We conclude that the main site of surface sphingomyelin synthesis in BHK cells could be in recycling endosomes and not in the Golgi apparatus as proposed previously. We also suggest a model pathway by which cholesterol may reach the plasma membrane via recycling endosomes.

Animals↗