Ceramides are bioactive sphingolipids which induce apoptosis in cells. Ceramidases which hydrolyze the fatty acid chain keep ceramide levels in check and have been proposed as a target for small-molecule inhibitors for anti-cancer therapy. B13 (or D-NMAPPD) is a potent ceramidase inhibitor which causes aopotosis in a number of cell lines including colorectal HL60 melanoma and keratinocyes.References1) A. Bielawska C.M. Linardic Y. Hannun "Ceramide-mediated biology. Determination of structural and stereospecific requirements through the use of N-acyl-phenylaminoalcohol analogs" J. Biol. Chem. 1992 267 18493-7. 2) M. Raisova G. Goltz et al. "Bcl-2 overexpression prevents apoptosis induced by ceramidase inhibitors in malignant melanoma and HaCaT keratinocytes" FEBS Letters 2002 516 47-52. 3) Bhabak Krishna P.; Kleuser Burkhard "Effective inhibition of acid and neutral ceramidases by novel B-13 and LCL-464 analogues" Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2013 21 874-882.
