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Sphingolipids and Hepatic Steatosis

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Sphingolipids and Metabolic Disease

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 721))

Abstract

The development of a fatty liver predisposes individuals to an array of health problems including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain forms of cancer. Inhibition or genetic ablation of genes controlling sphingolipid synthesis in rodents resolves hepatic steatosis and in many cases wards off the health complications associated with excessive hepatic triglyceride accumulation. Examples include the pharmacological inhibition of serine palmitoyltransferase or glucosylceramide synthase or the genetic depletion of acid sphingomyelinase, which dramatically reduce hepatic triglyceride levels in mice susceptible to the development of a fatty liver. The magnitude of the effects on triglyceride depletion in these models is impressive, but the relevance to humans and the mechanism of action is unclear. Herein we probe into the connections between sphingolipids and triglyceride synthesis in an attempt to identify causal relationships and opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore

    Benjamin T. Bikman & Scott A. Summers

  2. The Stedman Center for Nutrition and Metabolism Research, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Scott A. Summers

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  1. Benjamin T. Bikman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, and Ralph H. Johnson Veteran’s Administration, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

    L. Ashley Cowart PhD

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Bikman, B.T., Summers, S.A. (2011). Sphingolipids and Hepatic Steatosis. In: Cowart, L.A. (eds) Sphingolipids and Metabolic Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 721. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0650-1_6

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