How Ceramides Orchestrate Cardiometabolic Health—An Ode to Physically Active Living
Justin Carrard,
Hector Gallart-Ayala,
Nadia Weber,
Flora Colledge,
Lukas Streese,
Henner Hanssen,
Christian Schmied,
Julijana Ivanisevic,
Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss
Affiliations
Justin Carrard
Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Hector Gallart-Ayala
Metabolomics Platform, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-CHUV, Rue du Bugnon 19, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
Nadia Weber
Medical School, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Flora Colledge
Division of Sports Science, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Lukas Streese
Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Henner Hanssen
Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Christian Schmied
Sports Cardiology Section, Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Julijana Ivanisevic
Metabolomics Platform, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-CHUV, Rue du Bugnon 19, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss
Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) represent a growing socioeconomic burden and concern for healthcare systems worldwide. Improving patients’ metabolic phenotyping in clinical practice will enable clinicians to better tailor prevention and treatment strategy to individual needs. Recently, elevated levels of specific lipid species, known as ceramides, were shown to predict cardiometabolic outcomes beyond traditional biomarkers such as cholesterol. Preliminary data showed that physical activity, a potent, low-cost, and patient-empowering means to reduce CMD-related burden, influences ceramide levels. While a single bout of physical exercise increases circulating and muscular ceramide levels, regular exercise reduces ceramide content. Additionally, several ceramide species have been reported to be negatively associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, which is a potent health marker reflecting training level. Thus, regular exercise could optimize cardiometabolic health, partly by reversing altered ceramide profiles. This short review provides an overview of ceramide metabolism and its role in cardiometabolic health and diseases, before presenting the effects of exercise on ceramides in humans.
