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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
10:31
A Model Membrane Platform for Reconstituting Mitochondrial Membrane Dynamics
Published on: September 2, 2020
Ceramide-rich platforms in transmembrane signaling
Branka Stancevic1, Richard Kolesnick
1Laboratory of Signal Transduction, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
FEBS Letters
|February 25, 2010
Summary
Ceramide, generated by acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase), reorganizes plasma membranes to form signaling platforms. These ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs) are crucial in stress signaling and disease, offering therapeutic potential.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Membrane Biophysics
Background:
- Ceramide is implicated in regulating cellular stress responses.
- Plasma membrane reorganization is a key aspect of stress signaling pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the mechanisms of acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase)-generated ceramide in initiating transmembrane signaling.
- To discuss the role of ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs) in disease pathophysiology.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on ceramide biophysics and signaling.
- Analysis of the formation and function of ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs).
Main Results:
- Ceramide's unique biophysical properties facilitate the formation of ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs) in the plasma membrane's exoplasmic leaflet.
- CRPs are integral to initiating transmembrane stress signaling.
Conclusions:
- Ceramide-driven CRPs play a significant role in the pathophysiology of various diseases.
- The involvement of CRPs in disease makes them a promising therapeutic target.
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