Table 1.
Summary of studies assessing ceramide levels in patients with cardiometabolic diseases
| Disease | Participants | Ceramide | Type of sample | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR | Individuals with BMI <27 kg/m2 were classified as lean control subjects (n = 10). Subjects with a BMI of 27–33 kg/m2 were classified as obese without diabetes (n = 10) | The total muscle ceramide content was nearly 2-fold (46 ± 9 vs. 25 ± 2 pmol/2 mg muscle, P < 0.05) | Human muscle tissue | (16) |
| IR risk | Male subjects between 20 and 40 years of age (n = 27) | There was a significant negative correlation between muscle total ceramide content and insulin sensitivity (r = −0.49, P = 0.01) | Human muscle tissue | (64) |
| T2D | FINRISK 2002 (n = 8,045), Western Norway Coronary Angiography Cohort (n = 3,344) | Ceramide ratios: C18:0/C16:0 ceramide increased | Human plasma | (19) |
| T2D | Obese sedentary controls (n = 14), T2D patients (n = 15), and endurance training athletes (n = 15) | C18:0, C20:0, and C24:1 ceramides increased | Human serum | (65) |
| T2D | T2D patients (n = 13), healthy nondiabetic control subjects (n = 14) | C18:0, C20:0, C24:1 ceramides increased | Human serum | (54) |
| T2D | Cardiovascular health study participants (n = 3,645) | C16:0, C18:0, C20:0, C24:1 ceramides increased | Human serum | (55) |
| T2D | Strong Heart Study (n = 435) and Strong Heart Family Study (n = 1902) participants | C18:0, C20:0, C22:0 ceramides increased | Human serum | (56) |
| T2D, CVD | Strong Heart Study (n = 267) and Strong Heart Family Study (n = 597) participants | Higher plasma C16:0 ceramide levels in patients with T2D are associated with a higher risk of CVD | Human blood | (57) |
| T2D | T2D patients (n = 335) | There was an independent association between liver fat content and plasma levels of C18:0, C20:0, C22:0, and C24:0 ceramides | Human plasma | (58) |
| CAD | Familial CAD (n = 462) and population-based controls (n = 212) | C18:0, C22:0, C24:0 ceramides increased | Human serum | (59) |
| CAD | CAD (n = 265) and no CAD (n = 230) | C16:0, C18:0, C24:1 ceramides increased | Human plasma | (18) |
| CAD | Subjects in the Corogene (n = 160), Special Program University Medicine—Inflammation in Acute Coronary Syndromes (n = 1,637), and Bergen Coronary Angiography Cohort studies (n = 81) | Ceramide ratios: C16:0/C24:0, C18:0/C24:0, C24:1/C24:0 ceramide increased | Human plasma | (60) |
| CHD, HF | Framingham Heart Study (n = 2,642) and study of Health in Pomerania (n = 3,134) participants | C24:0/C16:0 ceramide ratios were inversely correlated with coronary heart disease events, and C24:0/C16:0 and C22:0/C16:0 ceramide ratios were negatively correlated with all-cause mortality. | Human serum | (61) |
| Heart failure (HF) | Cardiovascular Health Study participants (n = 4,249) | Higher levels of C16:0 ceramide in plasma are associated with an increased risk of HF, whereas higher levels of C22:0 ceramide are associated with a reduced risk of HF | Human serum | (62) |
| Hypertensive patients at high CV risk | Hypertensive patients aged 18–85 years with high or very high cardiovascular risk (n = 225) | C16:0, C22:0, and C24:0 ceramides have a significant significance in predicting major adverse cardiovascular event | Human blood | (63) |
| NAFLD | Obese children (n = 80), including children with NAFLD (n = 31) | C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C18:1, C22:0, C24:0 ceramides increased | Human serum | (66) |
| NAFLD | Individuals with liver histological classification of normal (n = 31), steatosis (n = 17), NASH (n = 20), or cirrhosis (n = 20) | Plasma: C18:0, C18:1, C20:0, C22:0, C24:0, C24:1 ceramides increased; liver:C18:0, C20:0, C22:0, C24:0 ceramides increased | Human liver and plasma | (67) |
| NASH | Morbidly obese women (n = 46), of which NASH patients (n = 22) | Ceramides increased | Human serum and portal vein blood | (68) |
| IR, NAFLD | HOMA-IR >3.19 (n = 62), HOMA-IR ≤3.19 (n = 63) | C16:0, C18:0, C19:0, C20:0, C24:1 ceramides increased | Human liver | (14) |
| NASH | Obese (BMI >30 kg/m2) patients (n = 21) and 7 control subjects. Liver histology classifies obese patients into NAFL− (n = 7), NAFL+ (n = 7), and NASH (n = 7) | Liver: ceramides, dihydroceramide, and lactosylceramides increased; serum: dihydroceramide increased | Human liver and serum | (69) |
HF, heart failure; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of IR; NAFL−, obese patients without steatosis; NAFL+, obese patients with steatosis; NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.