Ceramides in Obesity and Metabolic Disease

摘要

Experimental reduction of ceramides, which are toxic byproducts of metabolism of saturated fats, ameliorates features of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in rodents. Scientists at Duke-NUS and UT-Southwestern collabora-tively discovered that the induction of ceramide levels is essential for inflammation-induced insulin resistance, while ceramide degradation accounts for the cardiopro-tective and anti-diabetic actions of the hormone adiponectin.