Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, University Complutense of Madrid, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Ciudad Universitaria S/N, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Ciber Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jan 18;20(2):411. doi: 10.3390/ijms20020411.
In addition to playing a role as a structural component of cellular membranes, ceramide is now clearly recognized as a bioactive lipid implicated in a variety of physiological functions. This review aims to provide updated information on the role of ceramide in the regulation of vascular tone. Ceramide may induce vasodilator or vasoconstrictor effects by interacting with several signaling pathways in endothelial and smooth muscle cells. There is a clear, albeit complex, interaction between ceramide and redox signaling. In fact, reactive oxygen species (ROS) activate different ceramide generating pathways and, conversely, ceramide is known to increase ROS production. In recent years, ceramide has emerged as a novel key player in oxygen sensing in vascular cells and mediating vascular responses of crucial physiological relevance such as hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) or normoxic ductus arteriosus constriction. Likewise, a growing body of evidence over the last years suggests that exaggerated production of vascular ceramide may have detrimental effects in a number of pathological processes including cardiovascular and lung diseases.
除了作为细胞膜的结构成分发挥作用外，神经酰胺现在已被明确确认为一种生物活性脂质，参与多种生理功能。本综述旨在提供关于神经酰胺在调节血管张力中的作用的最新信息。神经酰胺可通过与内皮细胞和平滑肌细胞中的几种信号通路相互作用，引起血管舒张或收缩效应。神经酰胺和氧化还原信号之间存在明确但复杂的相互作用。事实上，活性氧 (ROS) 可激活不同的神经酰胺生成途径，相反，神经酰胺已知可增加 ROS 的产生。近年来，神经酰胺已成为血管细胞中氧感应的新关键因子，并介导对重要生理相关性的血管反应，如低氧性肺血管收缩 (HPV) 或常氧性动脉导管收缩。同样，近年来越来越多的证据表明，血管神经酰胺的过度产生可能对包括心血管疾病和肺部疾病在内的许多病理过程产生有害影响。
