[Correction of age-related changes in sphingolipid content in rat tissues by acid sphingomyelinase inhibition]

Because reduction of sphingomyelin and ceramide accumulation in aging are associated with the development of a wide variety of pathologies, finding the ways of normalizing the sphingolipid exchange is becoming actual. As the ASM is a key enzyme of the sphingolipid exchange, in the present study we have investigated the effect of an ASM inhibitor imipramine on the ceramide and sphingomyelin content in the tissues of old rats. The introduction of imipramine elevates the sphingomyelin level and reduces the ceramide/sphingomyelin ratio in the liver, heart and brain of old rats. The hippocampus is most sensitive to the imipramine effects. These data suggest that imipramine is an effective modulator of sphingolipid content in the body of old rats. The age-related changes in the ceramide and sphingomyelin content in the tissues are higly determined by the activation of acid sphingomyelinase in the process of aging.