Regulation of Skeletal Development by Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase 3

长期以来，鞘脂被认为是惰性结构分子。然而，这种观点在近年来发生了根本性的变化，因为鞘脂现在被认为是调节细胞生长、死亡、分化和应激反应的重要代谢物。鞘磷脂磷酸二酯酶3（SMPD 3;也称为中性鞘磷脂酶2）作为骨骼发育的一种新型调节剂的鉴定以及最近开发的以时空方式缺乏或过度表达这种酶的动物模型为进一步了解导致软骨内骨发育的细胞事件创造了令人兴奋的机会。

For a long time, sphingolipids were considered as inert structural molecules. This view, however, has radically changed in recent years as sphingolipids are now recognized as important metabolites regulating cell growth, death, differentiation and stress responses. The identification of sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 3 (SMPD3; also known as neutral sphingomyelinase 2) as a novel regulator of skeletal development and the recently developed animal models lacking or overexpressing this enzyme in a spatiotemporal manner have created exciting opportunities to further understand the cellular events leading to endochondral bone development.