title: The generation and behavioral analysis of ceramide kinase-null mice, indicating a function in cerebellar Purkinje cells.
abstract: The discovery of ceramide kinase (CerK), which phosphorylates ceramide (Cer) to ceramide 1-phisphate (C1P), established a new pathway for Cer metabolism. Among mouse tissues, brain contains the highest CerK activity. In this study, we found that CerK is highly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Since Purkinje cells are important for motor-related behaviors, we generated CerK-null mice and performed behavioral analyses. The CerK-null mice were healthy, and displayed no histological abnormalities. The mice lost CerK activity completely, suggesting that CerK is the only enzyme that phosphorylate Cer. However, cellular C1P levels were not different between the CerK-null and wild-type mice, indicating the presence of other C1P-producing pathway. The general motor-coordination was not impaired in the CerK-null mice, but emotional behavior was slightly affected. Our findings suggest that CerK is not necessary for survival at an individual level, but might be involved in higher brain function related to emotion.
authors: Laboratory of Biomembrane and Biofunctional Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors: Susumu
authors: S
authors: Mitsutake
authors: Urara
authors: U
authors: Yokose
authors: Mariko
authors: M
authors: Kato
authors: Ichiro
authors: I
authors: Matsuoka
authors: Jae-Myung
authors: JM
authors: Yoo
authors: Tack-Joong
authors: TJ
authors: Kim
authors: Hwan-Soo
authors: HS
authors: Yoo
authors: Kazunori
authors: K
authors: Fujimoto
authors: Yasuke
authors: Y
authors: Ando
authors: Masako
authors: M
authors: Sugiura
authors: Takafumi
authors: T
authors: Kohama
authors: Yasuyuki
authors: Y
authors: Igarashi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005838:Genotype; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013550:Swimming
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); C066324:ceramide kinase