title: Bacterial infections and ceramide.
abstract: Ceramide is released from sphingomyelin primarily by the activity of acid, neutral, or alkaline sphingomyelinases or is synthesized de novo. Several bacteria, viruses, and even parasites infect mammalian cells by exploiting the acid sphingomyelinase or the neutral sphingomyelinase-ceramide system, or both. Sphingomyelinases and ceramide have been shown to be crucially involved in the internalization of pathogens, the induction of apoptosis in infected cells, the intracellular activation of signaling pathways, and the release of cytokines. The diverse functions of ceramide in infections suggest that the sphingomyelinase-ceramide system is a key player in the host response to many pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. heike.gulbins@uni-due.de
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grassmé
authors.forename: Katrin Anne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D002518:Ceramides / Q000378:metabolism*; D015195:Drug Design; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002518:Ceramides; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase