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Sphingolipids: Basic Science and Drug Development pp 169–186Cite as

Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase (FIASMAs)

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 215))

Abstract

Sphingolipids are not only structural components of biological membranes, but also play an important role in cellular signalling and, thus, are involved in cell proliferation and differentiation but also stress and cell death. It is therefore of great clinical relevance to define inhibitors of the enzymes involved in sphingolipid metabolism. Here, we describe the state of the art of functional inhibitors of the acid sphingomyelinase. The acid sphingomyelinase converts sphingomyelin to ceramide, a compound often involved in cell stress. We describe the structural and physicochemical properties, the distribution, the pharmacokinetics, the pharmocodynamics and the clinical use of direct and functional inhibitors of the acid sphingomyelinase.

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Acknowledgments

A portion of this work was supported by funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grants GU 335/23-1, KO 947/11-1) and the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF Grant 01EX1015B).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, D 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Johannes Kornhuber, Philipp Tripal & Markus Muehlbacher

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, D 45122, Essen, Germany

    Erich Gulbins

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  1. Johannes Kornhuber
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  2. Philipp Tripal
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  3. Erich Gulbins
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  4. Markus Muehlbacher
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Correspondence to Johannes Kornhuber .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Molecular Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, Essen, 45122, Germany

    Erich Gulbins

  2. Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, W. Walnut Street 980, Indianapolis, 46202, Indiana, USA

    Irina Petrache

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Kornhuber, J., Tripal, P., Gulbins, E., Muehlbacher, M. (2013). Functional Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase (FIASMAs). In: Gulbins, E., Petrache, I. (eds) Sphingolipids: Basic Science and Drug Development. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 215. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1368-4_9

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