image: The stain on the left shows mouse lung cell composition after use of an SPT inhibitor and the stain on the right shows mouse lung cell composition in an animal in which SPT is at very low levels. Neither inhibition of SPT nor drastic decreases in the natural amount of this enzyme cause the respiratory inflammation associated with asthma. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the May 22, 2013, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dr. T.S. Worgall at Columbia University in New York, NY, and colleagues was titled, "Impaired Sphingolipid Synthesis in the Respiratory Tract Induces Airway Hyperreactivity." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of <i>Science Translational Medicine</i>/AAAS