Becker Katrin Anne, Gellhaus Alexandra, Winterhager Elke, Gulbins Erich
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
Subcell Biochem. 2008;49:523-38. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4020-8831-5_20.
Ceramide has been shown to be critically involved in multiple biological processes, for instance induction of apoptosis after ligation of death receptors or application of gamma-irradiation or UV-A light, respectively, regulation of cell differentiation, control of tumor cell growth, infection of mammalian cells with pathogenic bacteria and viruses or the control of embryo and organ development to name a few examples. Ceramide molecules form distinct large domains in the cell membrane, which may serve to re-organize cellular receptors and signalling molecules. Thus, in many conditions, ceramide may be involved in the spatial and temporal organisation of specific signalling pathways explaining the pleiotrophic effects of this lipid. Here, we focus on the role of ceramide and ceramide-enriched membrane domains, respectively, in bacterial infections, in particular of the lung, and sepsis. We describe the role of ceramide for infections with Neisseriae gonorhoeae, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Finally, we discuss newly emerging aspects of the cellular function of ceramide, i.e. its role in germ line and embryo development.
神经酰胺已被证明在多种生物学过程中起着关键作用，例如分别在死亡受体连接后、应用γ射线或UV - A光后诱导细胞凋亡，调节细胞分化，控制肿瘤细胞生长，致病性细菌和病毒感染哺乳动物细胞，或控制胚胎和器官发育等等。神经酰胺分子在细胞膜中形成独特的大结构域，这可能有助于重新组织细胞受体和信号分子。因此，在许多情况下，神经酰胺可能参与特定信号通路的时空组织，这解释了这种脂质的多效性作用。在这里，我们分别关注神经酰胺和富含神经酰胺的膜结构域在细菌感染，特别是肺部感染和败血症中的作用。我们描述了神经酰胺在淋病奈瑟菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和铜绿假单胞菌感染中的作用。最后，我们讨论神经酰胺细胞功能的新出现的方面，即其在生殖系和胚胎发育中的作用。
