Sphingomyelin (SM) is one of the major lipid components of plasma lipoproteins. Serine
palmitoyltransferase (SPT) is the key enzyme in SM biosynthesis. Mice totally lacking in SPT
are embryonic lethal. The liver is the major site for plasma lipoprotein biosynthesis,
secretion, and degradation, and in this study we utilized a liver-specific knock-out approach
for evaluating liver SPT activity and also its role in plasma SM and lipoprotein metabolism.
We found that a deficiency of liver-specific Sptlc2 (a subunit of SPT) decreased liver SPT …