Ceramide in Coronary Artery Disease: Troublesome or Helpful Future Tools in the Assessment of Risk Prediction and Therapy Effectiveness?

Figures

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  Figure 1. (Panel (A)) Ceramide structure. R = fatty acid chain. (Panel (B)) Main Cerssynthesis pathways: de novo pathway and recycling pathway. (Panel (C)) Main biological function of Cers.

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  Figure 2. The diabetes score (dScore) incorporates the Cerratio with the addition of other important risk factors (age, sex, and body mass index—BMI), giving the risk of developing T2D in the next 10 years. (scale 0–100). Each subject is assigned to one of the following risk categories for developing T2D in the next 10 years: low risk is defined as <5%, moderate risk 5–15%, and high risk more than 15% probability.

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  Figure 3. Panel (A) The CERT1 score consists of six components: three individual Cersand three Cer/Cer ratios. Subjects are assigned a 13-level score (0–12) and, more generally, to 4 risk categories: 1 = low risk, 2 = moderate risk, 3 = increased risk, and 4 = high risk. CERT2 score consists of four components: one Cer/Cer ratio, two Cer/phosphatidylcholines (PC) ratios, and a single PC; also, in this case, each patient is assigned a 0–12 score and 1 of 4 risk categories (from low to high risk). Panel (B) Which quartile the score for a patient belongs to is then determined. For CERT1, only quartiles 3 and 4 give risk points, while for CERT2, the second quartile yields a risk point.

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  Figure 4. Main data on the role of different Cerspecies in the AMI setting and as predictors of adverse CV events.