[Neutral ceramidase]: Cell membrane; Single-pass type II membrane protein . Membrane raft; Single-pass type II membrane protein . Membrane, caveola; Single-pass type II membrane protein . Golgi apparatus membrane; Single-pass type II membrane protein . Mitochondrion . Secreted, extracellular exosome . Enriched in exosomes upon stimulation by cytokine (PubMed:24798654). Enriched in caveolae and lipid rafts (By similarity). The localization to the mitochondrion could not be confirmed (PubMed:15845354). .; [Neutral ceramidase soluble form]: Secreted .
Tissue Expression
Primarily expressed in intestine (PubMed:17334805). Ubiquitously expressed with higher levels in kidney, skeletal muscle and heart (PubMed:10781606). The ubiquitous expression observed for ASAH2 might be an experimental artifact due to the paralog ASAH2B (PubMed:17334805).
Signaling_pathway
Environmental Information Processing >> Signal transduction >> Sphingolipid signaling pathway
Research Areas
Function
Plasma membrane ceramidase that hydrolyzes sphingolipid ceramides into sphingosine and free fatty acids at neutral pH . Ceramides, sphingosine, and its phosphorylated form sphingosine-1-phosphate are bioactive lipids that mediate cellular signaling pathways regulating several biological processes including cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation . Also catalyzes the reverse reaction allowing the synthesis of ceramides from fatty acids and sphingosine . Together with sphingomyelinase, participates in the production of sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate from the degradation of sphingomyelin, a sphingolipid enriched in the plasma membrane of cells . Also participates in the hydrolysis of ceramides from the extracellular milieu allowing the production of sphingosine-1-phosphate inside and outside cells (By similarity). This is the case for instance with the digestion of dietary sphingolipids in the intestinal tract (By similarity).