Ceramides in Alzheimer’s Disease: Key Mediators of Neuronal Apoptosis Induced by Oxidative Stress and Aβ Accumulation

Figure 1

Ceramide formation via de novo synthesis, recycling, and degradation. In the catabolic pathway, ceramides are generated through sphingomyelin hydrolysis by sphingomyelinases (SMases). In de novo synthesis, serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) is the rate-limiting enzyme. In the recycling pathway, sphingosine, the product of sphingolipid catabolism, is salvaged through reacylation, resulting in ceramide production.