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Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy
Published on: January 31, 2025
The emerging role of acid sphingomyelinase in autophagy
Cristiana Perrotta1, Davide Cervia, Clara De Palma
1Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "Luigi Sacco" (DIBIC), National Research Council-Institute of Neuroscience, University Hospital "Luigi Sacco", Università di Milano, 20157, Milan, Italy.
Abstract:
Autophagy, the main intracellular process of cytoplasmic material degradation, is involved in cell survival and death. Autophagy is regulated at various levels and novel modulators of its function are being continuously identified. An intriguing recent observation is that among these modulators is the sphingolipid metabolising enzyme, Acid Sphingomyelinase (A-SMase), already known to play a fundamental role in apoptotic cell death participating in several pathophysiological conditions. In this review we analyse and discuss the relationship between autophagy and A-SMase describing how A-SMase may regulate it and defining, for the first time, the existence of an A-SMase-autophagy axis. The imbalance of this axis plays a role in cancer, nervous system, cardiovascular, and hepatic disorders.
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