Rinsho byori. The Japanese journal of clinical pathology 2013-09-01

[Sphingolipids, possible biomarkers for atherosclerotic disorders].

Ryunosuke Ohkawa, Makoto Kurano, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Shigeo Okubo, Hiromitsu Yokota, Hitoshi Ikeda, Yutaka Yatomi

Index: Rinsho Byori. 61(9) , 795-802, (2013)

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Abstract

Sphingolipids have been recently elucidated to be not only mere components of the plasma membrane but also bioactive mediators which can induce various biological responses. Among these lipids, sphingomyelin(SM) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (Sph-1-P) are proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: SM is abundant in atherosclerotic lesions and Sph-1-P is bound to HDL and attributes to the anti-atherosclerotic properties of HDL at least partly. Therefore, Sph-1-P and SM can be useful biomarkers for atherosclerotic disorders. However, at present, the measurement of Sph-1-P and SM levels has not been brought into clinical practice, yet. The main obstacle is the difficulty in measuring these sphingolipids precisely, rapidly, and conveniently. Recently, we have developed new methods for measuring Sph-1-P (HPLC method) and SM (enzymatic method). These methods are easy to be introduced into clinical laboratory testing because they do not need any special techniques and equipment. With this method for SM, we have demonstrated that the SM concentration was significantly higher in subjects with acute coronary syndrome. In this paper, we reviewed the possibility of sphingolipids as biomarkers for atherosclerotic disorders.