The roles of ceramide on the cellular signal transduction in RAW 264.7 murine macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma.

Cerarmide acts as a lipid second messenger in the cellular signal transduction and is involved in mediating a variety of cell functions such as proliferation, differentiation, growth arrest, and apoptosis. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of ceramide on cellular cytotoxity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) to understand the relationship between them. Ceramide treatment significantly increased cell death in RAW 264.7 murine macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-g (IFN-g). (omitted)