Reaction: stearoyl-CoA + a sphingoid base = an N-(stearoyl)-sphingoid base + CoA
Glossary: a sphingoid base = an amino alcohol, composed predominantly of 18 carbon atoms, characterized by the presence of a hydroxyl group at C-1 (and often also at C-3), and an amine group at C-2.
Other name(s): mammalian ceramide synthase 1; LASS1 (gene name); UOG1 (gene name); CERS1 (gene name)
Systematic name: stearoyl-CoA:sphingoid base N-stearoyltransferase
Comments: Mammals have six ceramide synthases that exhibit relatively strict specificity regarding the chain-length of their acyl-CoA substrates. Ceramide synthase 1 (CERS1) is structurally and functionally distinctive from all other CERS enzymes, and is specific for stearoyl-CoA as the acyl donor. It can use multiple sphingoid bases including sphinganine, sphingosine, and phytosphingosine.
Links to other databases: BRENDA, EXPASY, KEGG, MetaCyc, CAS registry number:
References:
1. Venkataraman, K., Riebeling, C., Bodennec, J., Riezman, H., Allegood, J.C., Sullards, M.C., Merrill, A.H., Jr. and Futerman, A.H. Upstream of growth and differentiation factor 1 (uog1), a mammalian homolog of the yeast longevity assurance gene 1 (LAG1), regulates N-stearoyl-sphinganine (C18-(dihydro)ceramide) synthesis in a fumonisin B1-independent manner in mammalian cells. J. Biol. Chem 277 (2002) 35642-35649. [PMID: 12105227]
2. Kim, H.J., Qiao, Q., Toop, H.D., Morris, J.C. and Don, A.S. A fluorescent assay for ceramide synthase activity. J. Lipid Res. 53 (2012) 1701-1707. [PMID: 22661289]
3. Wang, Z., Wen, L., Zhu, F., Wang, Y., Xie, Q., Chen, Z. and Li, Y. Overexpression of ceramide synthase 1 increases C18-ceramide and leads to lethal autophagy in human glioma. Oncotarget 8 (2017) 104022-104036. [PMID: 29262618]
4. Turpin-Nolan, S.M., Hammerschmidt, P., Chen, W., Jais, A., Timper, K., Awazawa, M., Brodesser, S. and Bruning, J.C. CerS1-derived C18:0 ceramide in skeletal muscle promotes obesity-induced insulin resistance. Cell Rep. 26 (2019) 1-10.e7. [PMID: 30605666]