Discovery of the molecular machinery CERT for endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi trafficking of ceramide.

Synthesis and sorting of lipids are essential events for membrane biogenesis and its homeostasis. Ceramide is synthesised at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and translocated to the Golgi compartment for conversion to sphingomyelin (SM). We have recently identified a key factor (named CERT) for ceramide trafficking. In this short review, I summarise recent advances in molecular mechanisms of intracellular transport of ceramide, focusing on our genetic and biochemical approaches to this issue.