How Ceramides Orchestrate Cardiometabolic Health—An Ode to Physically Active Living

Abstract

Cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) represent a growing socioeconomic burden and concern for healthcare systems worldwide. Improving patients’ metabolic phenotyping in clinical practice will enable clinicians to better tailor prevention and treatment strategy to individual needs. Recently, elevated levels of specific lipid species, known as ceramides, were shown to predict cardiometabolic outcomes beyond traditional biomarkers such as cholesterol. Preliminary data showed that physical activity, a potent, low-cost, and patient-empowering means to reduce CMD-related burden, influences ceramide levels. While a single bout of physical exercise increases circulating and muscular ceramide levels, regular exercise reduces ceramide content. Additionally, several ceramide species have been reported to be negatively associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, which is a potent health marker reflecting training level. Thus, regular exercise could optimize cardiometabolic health, partly by reversing altered ceramide profiles. This short review provides an overview of ceramide metabolism and its role in cardiometabolic health and diseases, before presenting the effects of exercise on ceramides in humans.