ASAH2
Description
The ASAH2 (N-acylsphingosine amidohydrolase 2) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 10.
Neutral ceramidase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ASAH2 gene.
ASAH2 encodes neutral ceramidase, a plasma membrane enzyme that hydrolyzes ceramides into sphingosine and free fatty acids at neutral pH. It also catalyzes the reverse reaction, synthesizing ceramides from fatty acids and sphingosine. ASAH2 participates in the production of sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate from the degradation of sphingomyelin, a sphingolipid enriched in cell membranes. Additionally, ASAH2 hydrolyzes ceramides from the extracellular milieu, contributing to sphingosine-1-phosphate production both inside and outside cells. This process is important in the digestion of dietary sphingolipids in the intestinal tract.
ASAH2 is also known as BCDase, HNAC1, LCDase, N-CDase, NCDase.
