Carla Centi | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Sphingolipids and the immune system.

The importance of sphingolipids, not only as components of plasma membranes but also as key players in different physiological and pathophysiological cellular events, is now emerging. This review gathers together what the authors feel are the most relevant data, present in the literature, regarding the roles and the effects of sphingolipids, such as ceramide, ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P), sphingosine (SP) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), on the development, activation and regulation of the immune system.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Effect of the lactic acid bacterium Streptococcus thermophilus on stratum corneum ceramide levels and signs and symptoms of atopic dermatitis patients.

A reduced amount of total ceramides could be responsible for functional abnormalities of the skin of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. The ability of an experimental cream containing sonicated Streptococcus thermophilus to increase skin ceramide levels in healthy subjects has been previously reported. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effects of the topical administration of a S. thermophilus-containing cream on ceramide levels of stratum corneum from AD patients. A 2-week application of the cream, containing a sonicated preparation of the lactic acid bacterium S. thermophilus, in the forearm skin of 11 patients led to a significant and relevant increase of skin ceramide amounts, which could have resulted from the sphingomyelin hydrolysis through the bacterial sphingomyelinase. Moreover, in all patients the topical application of our experimental cream also resulted in the improvement of the signs and symptoms characteristic of AD skin (i.e. erythema, scaling, pruritus).

Administration, Topical↗