title: A specific ceramide kinase assay to measure cellular levels of ceramide.
abstract: Human ceramide kinase was recently cloned and characterized. Recombinant ceramide kinase is highly active and ceramide is the only lipid that it phosphorylates, indicating that it should be useful for the measurement of ceramide levels in biological samples by conversion to ceramide-1-phosphate, in a manner analogous to that of the widely used Escherichia coli diacylglycerol kinase method. Using recombinant ceramide kinase, we have now developed a rapid and specific enzymatic method to quantify mass levels of long-chain ceramides in cellular lipid extracts. This new ceramide kinase assay is more specific than the commonly used diacylglycerol kinase method because the ubiquitous lipid diacylglycerol, the preferred substrate for diacyglycerol kinase which is usually present at higher concentrations than ceramide and can interfere with ceramide phosphorylation, is completely inactive with ceramide kinase. Moreover, this high specificity eliminates the need for analysis of the lipid product by thin-layer chromatography since ceramide-1-phosphate is the only radiolabeled lipid in organic solvent extracts of ceramide kinase reactions.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Virginia Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0614, USA.
authors.forename: Meryem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bektas
authors.forename: Puneet S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Jolly
authors.forename: Sheldon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milstien
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spiegel
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay; D002518:Ceramides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010761:Phosphorus Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002518:Ceramides; D010761:Phosphorus Radioisotopes; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); C066324:ceramide kinase