Marí Montserrat, Fernández-Checa José C
Liver Unit and Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas Esther Koplowitz, IMDiM, Hospital Clinic i Provincial, CIBER-HEPAD, Instituto Salud Carlos III, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.
Liver Int. 2007 May;27(4):440-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2007.01475.x.
Sphingolipids (SLs) comprise a class of lipids with important structural functions and increasing relevance in cellular signalling. In particular, ceramide has attracted considerable attention owing to its role as a second messenger modulating several cell functions such as proliferation, gene expression, differentiation, cell cycle arrest and cell death. Increasing evidence documents the role of SLs in stress and death ligand-induced hepatocellular death, which contributes to the progression of several liver diseases including steatohepatitis, ischaemia-reperfusion liver injury or hepatocarcinogenesis. Furthermore, recent data indicate that the accumulation of SLs in specific cell subcompartments, characteristic of many sphingolipidoses, contributes to the hepatic dysfunctions that accompany these inherited diseases. Hence, the regulation of the cell biology and metabolism of SLs may open up a novel therapeutic avenue in the treatment of liver diseases.
鞘脂（SLs）是一类具有重要结构功能且在细胞信号传导中相关性日益增加的脂质。特别是，神经酰胺因其作为第二信使调节多种细胞功能（如增殖、基因表达、分化、细胞周期停滞和细胞死亡）的作用而备受关注。越来越多的证据表明鞘脂在应激和死亡配体诱导的肝细胞死亡中起作用，这促进了包括脂肪性肝炎、缺血再灌注肝损伤或肝癌发生在内的几种肝脏疾病的进展。此外，最近的数据表明，鞘脂在许多鞘脂贮积症特有的特定细胞亚区室中的积累，导致了伴随这些遗传性疾病的肝功能障碍。因此，鞘脂细胞生物学和代谢的调节可能为肝脏疾病的治疗开辟一条新的治疗途径。
