Role of ceramide in neuronal cell death and differentiation

Ceramide is a sphingolipid metabolite that has been implicated in cellular apoptosis and differentiation, It has been shown to induce apoptosis in var ious mammalian cell lines and, more recently, has been implicated in neuron al apoptosis, Although the mechanisms of ceramide-induced cell death have n ot been fully elucidated, they appear to involve a number of signal transdu ction pathways, including proline-directed kinases, phosphatases, phospholi pases, transcription factors, and caspases, Interestingly, ceramide also ap pears to promote survival and differentiation in certain neuronal systems, when applied at lower concentrations and/or at different developmental stag es. Together, studies to date indicate an important multipotential role for this lipid in cell death and differentiation.