Human CellExp™ Acid Sphingomyelinase, Human Recombinant

Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase, which is encoded by the SMPD1 gene, is also known as acid sphingomyelinase or aSMase. There are two types of sphingomyelinases: ASM (acid), and NSM (neutral). ASM / aSMase can catalyze the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to ceramide and phosphorylcholine with cofactor Zn2+. Ceramide, a bioactive lipid, has emerged as an important signaling molecule involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell differentiation, apoptosis, and proliferation. Mutations in the SMPD1 gene cause Niemann–Pick disease types A and B due to deficiency in hydrolyzing sphingomyelin to ceramide. Activation of ASM can be achieved by the removal of its C terminal cysteine residue or C-terminal truncation. BioVision’s recombinant human ASM was expressed from HEK293 cells without the last three C terminal residues, and is therefore constitutively active.