Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
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J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Jun 2010
Comparative StudyEffects of sphingolipid synthesis inhibition on cholesterol gallstone formation in C57BL/6J mice.
Sphingolipids play a very important role in cell membrane formation, signal transduction and plasma lipoprotein metabolism. The first rate-limiting step in the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway is catalyzed by serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), and myriocin is a potent and specific inhibitor of SPT. We investigated the impact of SPT inhibition on cholesterol gallstone formation in C57BL/6J mice. ⋯ SPT inhibition by myriocin suppressed gallstone formation and the levels of ceramide in both the serum and bile. p38 in the cellular signaling pathways might be associated with cholesterol gallstone formation.