Kim W Scott, Chalfant Charles E, Garner Brett
Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Curr Vasc Pharmacol. 2006 Apr;4(2):151-4. doi: 10.2174/157016106776359844.
The accumulation of sphingolipids, including sphingomyelin and glycosphingolipids, in atherosclerotic lesions is well known. Plasma sphingomyelin concentration is correlated with atherosclerosis development and is an independent predictor of coronary artery disease. Similarly, plasma glycosphingolipid levels are increased in conditions associated with atherosclerosis risk. Recent studies have focused on understanding the mechanisms by which specific intermediates and end-products of the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway, such as sphingomyelin, glycosphingolipids, ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate may modulate vascular biology and atherosclerosis. Here we focus on recent work indicating that pharmacological modulation of the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway could offer a novel treatment for atherosclerosis or, at the very least, provide mechanistic insights concerning the etiology of this disease which is the major cause of death in developed countries.
鞘脂（包括鞘磷脂和糖鞘脂）在动脉粥样硬化病变中的蓄积是众所周知的。血浆鞘磷脂浓度与动脉粥样硬化的发展相关，并且是冠状动脉疾病的独立预测指标。同样，在与动脉粥样硬化风险相关的情况下，血浆糖鞘脂水平会升高。最近的研究集中在了解鞘脂生物合成途径的特定中间体和终产物（如鞘磷脂、糖鞘脂、神经酰胺和1-磷酸鞘氨醇）可能调节血管生物学和动脉粥样硬化的机制。在此，我们重点关注近期的研究工作，这些研究表明对鞘脂生物合成途径进行药理学调节可能为动脉粥样硬化提供一种新的治疗方法，或者至少能为这种在发达国家是主要死亡原因的疾病的病因提供机制方面的见解。
