Search results for "sphingomyelin"

Induction of programmed cell death in human retinoblastoma Y79 cells by C2-ceramide.

1998

C2-ceramide, a cell-permeable analogue of ceramide, induced significant, dose- and time-dependent death in human retinoblastoma Y79 cells. Dying cells strongly displayed the morphology of apoptosis as characterized by microscopic evidence of cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, nuclear and chromatin condensation and degeneration of the nucleus into membrane-bound apoptotic bodies. Upon induction of apoptosis Y79 cells evidence early phosphatidylserine externalization, as shown by annexin V-FITC. Apoptosis was also assessed by monitoring changes in cell granularity by staining with the combined fluorescent dyes acridine orange and ethidium bromide. C2-ceramide induced these morphological chang…

Oxidative stress resistance in hippocampal cells is associated with altered membrane fluidity and enhanced nonamyloidogenic cleavage of endogenous am…

2010

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have important roles as signaling molecules in the regulation of a variety of biological processes. On the other hand, chronic oxidative stress exerted by ROS is widely considered a causative factor in aging. Therefore, cells need to be able to adapt to a chronic oxidative challenge and do so to a certain cell-type-specific extent. Recently, we have shown in oxidative-stress-resistant cell lines, HT22(H2O2) and HT22(Glu), derived from the neuronal cell line HT22 by chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations of H(2)O(2) and glutamate, that, in addition to the known antioxidant defense mechanisms, e.g., activation of antioxidant enzymes or up-regulation of heat…

Production of ceramides causes apoptosis during early neural differentiation in vitro.

2000

To investigate signal transduction pathways leading to apoptosis during the early phase of neurogenesis, we employed PCC7-Mz1 cells, which cease to proliferate and begin to differentiate into a stable pattern of neurons, astroglial cells, and fibroblasts upon incubation with retinoic acid (RA). As part of lineage determination, a sizable fraction of RA-treated cultures die by apoptosis. Applying natural long-chain C(16)-ceramides as well as membrane-permeable C(2)/C(6)-ceramide analogs caused apoptosis, whereas the biologically nonactive C(2)-dihydroceramide did not. Treating PCC7-Mz1 stem cells with a neutral sphingomyelinase or with the ceramidase inhibitor N-oleoylethanolamine elevated t…

Ceramide Mediates Acute Oxygen Sensing in Vascular Tissues

2014

AbstractAims: A variety of vessels, such as resistance pulmonary arteries (PA) and fetoplacental arteries and the ductus arteriosus (DA) are specialized in sensing and responding to changes in oxygen tension. Despite opposite stimuli, normoxic DA contraction and hypoxic fetoplacental and PA vasoconstriction share some mechanistic features. Activation of neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase) and subsequent ceramide production has been involved in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). Herein we aimed to study the possible role of nSMase-derived ceramide as a common factor in the acute oxygen-sensing function of specialized vascular tissues. Results: The nSMase inhibitor GW4869 and an anticera…

Streptolysin O-permeabilized granulocytes shed L-selectin concomitantly with ceramide generation via neutral sphingomyelinase

2000

Abstract Cleavage of membrane-associated L-selectin regulates leukocyte rolling on vascular endothelium at sites of inflammation. We report that rapid and massive shedding of L-selectin occurs from granulocytes attacked by the pore-forming bacterial toxin streptolysin O (SLO). Shedding was not induced by an SLO mutant that retained binding capacity but lacked pore-forming activity. Cells permeabilized with SLO exhibited a 1.5-fold increase in the activity of neutral sphingomyelinase, which was accompanied by increased ceramide formation. L-selectin cleavage was inducible by treatment of cells with bacterial sphingomyelinase, and also through exogenous application of a cell-permeable ceramid…

Anandamide-induced apoptosis in Chang liver cells involves ceramide and JNK/AP-1 pathway

2006

In the present study we demonstrate that anandamide, the most important endogenous cannabinoid, markedly induced apoptosis in Chang liver cells, an immortalized non-tumor cell line derived from normal liver tissue, while it induced only modest effects in a number of hepatoma cell lines. The apoptotic effect was reduced by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, a membrane cholesterol depletor, suggesting an interaction between anandamide and the membrane microdomains named lipid rafts. Anandamide effects were mediated by the production of ceramide, as demonstrated by experiments performed with the sphingomyelinase inhibitor, desipramine, or with the sphingomyelinase activator, melittin. This conclusion w…

2020

The acid sphingomyelinase (ASM)/ceramide system exhibits a crucial role in the pathology of major depressive disorder (MDD). ASM hydrolyzes the abundant membrane lipid sphingomyelin to ceramide that regulates the clustering of membrane proteins via microdomain and lipid raft organization. Several commonly used antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, rely on the functional inhibition of ASM in terms of their antidepressive pharmacological effects. Transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) ion channels are located in the plasma membrane of neurons and serve as receptors for hyperforin, a phytochemical constituent of the antidepressive herbal remedy St. John’s wort. TRPC6 channels are invo…

A novel cholesterol-based detergent

2005

Design, synthesis and characterization of CHAPSTEROL, a novel cholesterol-based detergent developed for functional solubilization of cholesterol-dependent membrane proteins are described. To validate CHAPSTEROL, we employed the oxytocin receptor, a G protein-coupled receptor requiring cholesterol for its high-affinity binding state. Using the photoactivatable cholesterol analogue [3H]6,6-azocholestan-3beta-ol[3alphaH], we demonstrate that solubilization by CHAPSTEROL leads to an enrichment of cholesterol-binding proteins whereas the widely used bile acid derivative CHAPSO leads to a significant depletion of cholesterol-binding proteins. Similar to Triton X-100 and CHAPS, CHAPSTEROL maintain…

Pharmacokinetics of oligodeoxynucleotides encapsulated in liposomes: effect of lipid composition and preparation method

2000

1. The effect of the method employed to prepare liposomes and their lipid composition were evaluated in terms of the encapsulation efficiency and pharmacokinetic features of two oligodeoxynucleotides of a 21 mer: the normal (N-Odn) and the phosphorothioate (S-Odn) oligodeoxynucleotide. 2. Liposomes were prepared by the classical method of multilamellar vesicles (MV) and by the dehydration-rehydration method (DR). Two lipid mixtures were used to prepare liposomes--the predominant lipid being phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM) respectively. 3. The DR method for liposome preparation provided the highest encapsulation efficiency, regardless of liposome lipid composition and the typ…

Inhibitory activity of sphingomyelin on hemolytic activity of coelomic fluid of Holothuria polii (echinodermata)

1987

Abstract The hemolytic activity of coelomic fluid from Holothuria polii is specifically inhibited by sphingomyelin. This phospholipid is the constituent of the membrane which probably interacts with the hemolysin thereby leading to the lysis.