C74 ADVANCES IN TRANSLATIONAL COPD: Role Of Sphingomyelin Synthase Regulated Micro Domain Signaling In Cigarette Smoke Induced Inflammation

Recent studies from our laboratory have shown that sphingomyelin synthase-2 (SMS2) activation-dependent conversion of ceramide (Cer) to SM is critical in regulating the cigarette smoke (CS) as well as endotoxin induced inflammatory response. Furthermore, we found that SMS2 in the lipid raft microdomains partially associates with caveolin-1, and SM synthesis was increased in the lipid rafts. Because SM is a major component of lipid microdomains, proteins located in these microdomains would be regulated in a spatial-temporal manner by conversion of SM to Cer and the reconversion of Cer to SM.