Science! SDU Researchers Identified the Membrane Receptor for Ceramide in Adipocytes

JINAN, China, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Professor Sun Jinpeng's team at Shandong University and collaborators published a research paper titled "Metabolic signaling of ceramides through the FPR2 receptor inhibits adipocyte thermogenesis" in Science. This study employed high-throughput screening and animal models to identify FPR2, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) expressed at the adipocyte plasma membrane, as a critical ceramide receptor. This work systematically elucidated how the ceramide-FPR2 signaling axis regulates adipocyte thermogenesis and uncovered the molecular basis of FPR2's specificity for ceramide recognition. These findings advance the understanding of ceramide's biological functions and open new avenues for developing targeted therapies against metabolic diseases.

As a central molecule in the sphingomyelin metabolic pathway, ceramide is closely associated with metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis. Current research has revealed its role as an interorgan signaling mediator: gut-derived ceramide suppresses adipose thermogenesis and exacerbates hepatic lipid deposition, while adipose-derived ceramide promotes atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms underlying interorgan transport and exogenous ceramide's regulation of target cells remain unclear. Notably, recent findings of rapid regulatory phenomena (e.g., influencing glucose transport within minutes) suggest the existence of unidentified membrane receptor-mediated mechanisms enabling fast cellular responses.