Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34987511›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2021

Activation of Sphingomyelinase-Ceramide-Pathway in COVID-19 Purposes Its Inhibition for Therapeutic Strategies.

Murad Abusukhun, Martin S Winkler, Stefan Pöhlmann, Onnen Moerer, Konrad Meissner, Björn Tampe, Heike Hofmann-Winkler, Michael Bauer, Markus H Gräler, Ralf A Claus

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Clinical lipidomics in bacterial sepsis: a systematic review of serum and plasma evaluations.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2026
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Murad AbusukhunDepartment of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Martin S WinklerDepartment of Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Stefan PöhlmannInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.
Onnen MoererDepartment of Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Konrad MeissnerDepartment of Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Björn TampeDepartment of Nephrology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Heike Hofmann-WinklerInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.
Michael BauerDepartment of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Markus H GrälerDepartment of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Ralf A ClausDepartment of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Jena University Hospital · DEUniversity of Göttingen · DEGerman Primate Center · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Effective treatment strategies for severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remain scarce. Hydrolysis of membrane-embedded, inert sphingomyelin by stress responsive sphingomyelinases is a hallmark of adaptive responses and cellular repair. As demonstrated in experimental and observational clinical studies, the transient and stress-triggered release of a sphingomyelinase, SMPD1, into circulation and subsequent ceramide generation provides a promising target for FDA-approved drugs. Here, we report the activation of sphingomyelinase-ceramide pathway in 23 intensive care patients with severe COVID-19. We observed an increase of circulating activity of sphingomyelinase with subsequent derangement of sphingolipids in serum lipoproteins and from red blood cells (RBC). Consistent with increased ceramide levels derived from the inert membrane constituent sphingomyelin, increased activity of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) accurately distinguished the patient cohort undergoing intensive care from healthy controls. Positive correlational analyses with biomarkers of severe clinical phenotype support the concept of an essential pathophysiological role of ASM in the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as of a promising role for functional inhibition with anti-inflammatory agents in SARS-CoV-2 infection as also proposed in independent observational studies. We conclude that large-sized multicenter, interventional trials are now needed to evaluate the potential benefit of functional inhibition of this sphingomyelinase in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Indexed as

Signal TransductionAnti-Inflammatory AgentsCeramidesCOVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentEnzyme ActivationErythrocyte MembraneErythrocytesFatty AcidsHumansIntensive Care UnitsPatient AcuitySARS-CoV-2Sphingomyelin PhosphodiesteraseSphingomyelinsAnti-Inflammatory AgentsCeramidesFatty AcidsSphingomyelin PhosphodiesteraseSphingomyelinsceramidedrug repurposingFIASMAmolecular biology of critical caremolecular markersorgan failuresphingomyelinase

Identifiers

PMID34987511
PMCPMC8721106
OpenAlexW4200186163

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.