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Chapter category: Signal Transduction

Ceramide in Apoptosis: Possible Biophysical Foundations of Action

This chapter appears in the following book:

Ceramide Signaling

Edited by: Anthony H. Futerman
ISBN: 0-306-47442-5
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «

Chapter authors:
Paavo K. J. Kinnunen and Juha M. Holopainen


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One of the conserved lipid signaling systems in multicellular organisms is the SM cycle.1,2 The key molecule in this cascade is ceramide, which has been identified to serve as a second messenger for a variety of cellular processes, ranging from differentiation and proliferation to senescence and programmed cell death, apoptosis. The site and source, as well as the amount of ceramide formed, the phase of the cell cycle, and the activation state of downstream signaling molecules all play a role in the final outcome. This review summarizes the impact of ceramide on the biophysical properties of model biomembranes and discusses how these profound and somewhat unusual effects could perhaps be manifested in the different cellular processes triggered by this lipid second messenger.

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