Journal ArticleDOI
Alkaline sphingomyelinase activity is decreased in human colorectal carcinoma
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TLDR
The authors identified a distinctive alkaline SMase in the intestine that differs from the known acidic and neutral SMases, and the functions and clinical implications of the enzyme are unknown.Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The metabolism of sphingomyelin generates important signals regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. Previous studies found that the administration of colon carcinoma carcinogen was associated with an accumulation of membrane sphingomyelin, and that dietary sphingomyelin inhibited promotion of experimental colon carcinoma in mice, indicating that the abnormal metabolism of sphingomyelin is linked to colon carcinoma development. However, the changes in sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity in colon carcinoma have not been directly studied. The authors identified, specifically in the intestine, a distinctive alkaline SMase that differs from the known acidic and neutral SMases. The functions and clinical implications of the enzyme are unknown. This study examined the changes in all three SMase activities in human colorectal carcinoma. METHODS: Tissue samples were taken from colorectal carcinoma and normal mucosa from 18 patients. After homogenization, the activities of acidic, neutral, and alkaline SMase, as well as ceramidase and alkaline phosphatase, were determined. The enzyme activities in cancer tissue were compared with normal tissue from the same patients. RESULTS: In the normal tissue, there is an activity gradient from the ascending colon to the rectum for neutral and alkaline SMases but not for acidic SMase. In colorectal carcinoma, alkaline SMase activity was preferentially decreased by 75%, whereas acidic and neutral SMase activity decreased by 30% and 50%, respectively. No changes could be found for either ceramidase or alkaline phosphatase activity. CONCLUSIONS: Alkaline SMase activity preferentially decreases in human colorectal carcinoma, suggesting a regulatory role of the enzyme in colon mucosa cell proliferation.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Sphingolipids in Food and the Emerging Importance of Sphingolipids to Nutrition
Hubert W. Vesper,Eva-Maria Schmelz,Mariana Nikolova-Karakashian,Dirck L. Dillehay,Daniel V. Lynch,Alfred H. Merrill +5 more
TL;DR: There is no known nutritional requirement for sphingolipids; nonetheless, they are hydrolyzed throughout the gastrointestinal tract to the same categories of metabolites that are used by cells to regulate growth, differentiation, apoptosis and other cellular functions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nutritional and technological aspects of milk fat globule membrane material
Koen Dewettinck,Roeland Rombaut,Natacha Thienpont,Natacha Thienpont,Thien Trung Le,Kathy Messens,John Van Camp +6 more
TL;DR: The milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) has gained a lot of attention recently, due to the growing interest in its nutritional and technological properties The whole membrane as well as the separate lipid and protein components have great potential for new product applications as discussed by the authors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dietary factors in human colorectal cancer.
TL;DR: It is believed that continuing scrutiny and precise assessment of the benefits and potential risks of nutrients in the treatment and prevention of colorectal cancer will prove significant to controlling this devastating disease.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phytosterols as anticancer compounds.
Peter G. Bradford,Atif B. Awad +1 more
TL;DR: The current state of knowledge regarding the anticancer effects of phytosterols is summarized, including the boosting of immune recognition of cancer, influencing hormonal dependent growth of endocrine tumors, and altering sterol biosynthesis.
Journal ArticleDOI
Absorption and lipoprotein transport of sphingomyelin
Aake Nilsson,Rui-Dong Duan +1 more
TL;DR: Plasma SM increases after periods of large lipid loads, during suckling, and in type II hypercholesterolemia, cholesterol-fed animals, and apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.
References
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Simple liquid-liquid partition system for isolation of labeled oleic acid from mixtures with glycerides
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TL;DR: Ceramide is a potent and specific suppressor of cell growth and an inducer of apoptosis and should provide new understanding of the physiological functions of ceramide and promise significant insight into a novel biochemical pathway regulating apoptosis.