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De novo ceramide synthesis is involved in acute inflammation during labor

  • Paola Signorelli , Laura Avagliano , Marta R. Reforgiato , Nadia Toppi , Josefina Casas , Gemma Fabriàs , Anna Maria Marconi , Riccardo Ghidoni and Anna Caretti EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: October 23, 2015

Abstract

Gestation is regulated by an inflammatory process that allows implantation and parturition. The comprehension of such inflammatory switches is important for the identification of therapeutic targets in pregnancy defects. Sphingolipids are a class of structural membrane components with important signaling functions. Among sphingolipids, ceramide is a well-known mediator of stress signals and pro-inflammatory responses. In this paper, we evaluated the association between ceramide increase and the inflammatory process of labor, comparing placentas from vaginal deliveries, including both spontaneous and induced labor, versus elective cesarean. We demonstrated that: (i) the inflammatory marker IL-6 is upregulated in labored placentas; (ii) IL-6 content inversely correlates with labor duration; (iii) ceramide content and expression of serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT, rate limiting enzyme for de novo ceramide synthesis) are increased in labored placentas; (iv) the expression of SPT directly correlates with inflammation and inversely with labor duration. These observations suggest that ceramide metabolism and signaling may be implicated in controlling important inflammatory mechanisms driving gestation: we hypothesize that ceramide can be a therapeutic target in inflammatory complications of parturition.


Corresponding author: Anna Caretti, Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, San Paolo Hospital, via A. di Rudinì 8, I-20142 Milan, Italy, e-mail:

Acknowledgments

Financial support from the institutional grants of the University of Milan and the PhD program in ‘Molecular and Translational Medicine’ of the University of Milan, Italy, is acknowledged.

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Received: 2015-7-23
Accepted: 2015-10-20
Published Online: 2015-10-23
Published in Print: 2016-1-1

©2016 by De Gruyter

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