Ceramide
lipidCeramide is a pro-atherogenic bioactive lipid that drives altered lipid metabolism, LDL aggregation, foam-cell formation and atherosclerotic plaque progression.
Pathway placement
Cascade stepLipid retention & oxidation
Confidencehigh
RationaleBioactive sphingolipid dysregulated in atherosclerosis; promotes LDL aggregation, foam-cell formation, and atherosclerotic progression.
Also acts inVascular inflammation
Druggability
Not assessed (no mapped human gene target).
Type I vs Type II discrimination
ScoresLow-confidence (proxy)
R — rupture / Type-I57
C — confounder / Type-II87
A — assay feasibility40
E — evidence strength32
T1DI (composite)5
Specificity differential (R−C)-29.7
Confounder panel (Type-II drivers)
No confounder evidence retrieved.
Tier: light (literature co-occurrence proxy — lower confidence). See the discrimination table for all markers.
Assay & specimen
Class-level default (no specific cleared assay)— generic method inferred from analyte class; confirm against a specific product insert before use.
Specimen
Serum or plasma (EDTA to limit oxidation)
Collection tube
K2/K3-EDTA (lavender-top) · Serum separator (gold/red-top, SST)
Method / principle
LC-MS/MS lipidomics (targeted or shotgun)
Reagent / substrate
Deuterated lipid-class internal standards; MS/MS transitions
Platform
LC-MS/MS
Turnaround · availability
Research · Research-only
Literature evidence(16)
- Bioactive lipids in plasma and atherogenic apoB-containing lipoproteins: Effects of statins and PCSK9 inhibitors and relevance to residual cardiovascular risk.Pharmacology & therapeutics · 2026 · PMID 42162924 · doi
- Lipid alterations in acute myocardial infarction are associated with gut microbiota.Microbiology spectrum · 2025 · PMID 39969201 · doi
- Recent progress in metabolomic analysis of acute coronary syndrome: a narrative review.Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy · 2025 · PMID 40385284 · doi
- Changes to the serum lipidome and their relation to coronary plaque in the first six months after acute myocardial infarction.Atherosclerosis · 2025 · PMID 40651072 · doi
- Lipidomic Signature of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Peripheral Artery Disease.Journal of proteome research · 2025 · PMID 40910695 · doi
- Spatial lipidomics of coronary atherosclerotic plaque development in a familial hypercholesterolemia swine model.Journal of lipid research · 2024 · PMID 38246237 · doi
- Ambient Air Pollution and Atherosclerosis: A Potential Mediating Role of Sphingolipids.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2022 · PMID 35652334 · doi
- Sphingolipids in Atherosclerosis: Chimeras in Structure and Function.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022 · PMID 36233252 · doi
- Abnormal fatty acid metabolism and ceramide expression may discriminate myocardial infarction from strangulation death: A pilot study.Tissue & cell · 2022 · PMID 36434828 · doi
- The human liver lipidome is significantly related to the lipid composition and aggregation susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles.Atherosclerosis · 2022 · PMID 36455305 · doi
- Lipidomics reveals the dysregulated ceramide metabolism in oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced macrophage-derived foam cell.Biomedical chromatography : BMC · 2021 · PMID 34893994 · doi
- LDL subclass lipidomics in atherogenic dyslipidemia: effect of statin therapy on bioactive lipids and dense LDL.Journal of lipid research · 2020 · PMID 32295829 · doi
- Alterations in the gut microbiome and metabolism with coronary artery disease severity.Microbiome · 2019 · PMID 31027508 · doi
- Race disparity in blood sphingolipidomics associated with lupus cardiovascular comorbidity.PloS one · 2019 · PMID 31747417 · doi
- Lipidomic analysis of plasma lipoprotein fractions in myocardial infarction-prone rabbits.Journal of bioscience and bioengineering · 2015 · PMID 26162515 · doi
- Alteration in metabolic signature and lipid metabolism in patients with angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.PloS one · 2015 · PMID 26258408 · doi