Gestation is regulated by an inflammatory process that allows implantation and parturition. The comprehension of such inflammatory switches is important for the identification of therapeutic targets in pregnancy defects. Sphingolipids are a class of structural membrane components with important signaling functions. Among sphingolipids, ceramide is a well-known mediator of stress signals and pro-inflammatory responses. In this paper, we evaluated the association between ceramide increase and the inflammatory process of labor, comparing placentas from vaginal deliveries, including both spontaneous and induced labor, versus elective cesarean. We demonstrated that: (i) the inflammatory marker IL-6 is upregulated in labored placentas; (ii) IL-6 content inversely correlates with labor duration; (iii) ceramide content and expression of serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT, rate limiting enzyme for de novo ceramide synthesis) are increased in labored placentas; (iv) the expression of SPT directly correlates with inflammation and inversely with labor duration. These observations suggest that ceramide metabolism and signaling may be implicated in controlling important inflammatory mechanisms driving gestation: we hypothesize that ceramide can be a therapeutic target in inflammatory complications of parturition.

The ganglioside composition of the cerebral hemispheres of young and adult rats of either sex has been herein assessed for the first time. In females, the total ganglioside content at any age, the content of GM1, GD1a, and GD1b at 8 days, and the content of GM1, GD1b, GT1b, and GQ1b at 60 days were higher in the right than in the left hemisphere. In males, no difference was observed. Concerning the ceramide moiety, a difference was displayed by C18:1 long-chain base in GD1a, whose proportion was higher in the left than in the right hemisphere of females aged 8 days. The comparison between homolateral hemispheres of rats of different sex revealed several differences. On average, in 8-day-old animals, the content of gangliosides was higher in females than in males. At 60 days the amount of gangliosides was on average lower in females than in males, even if with some exception. The data obtained with the current investigation show the existence of a ganglioside lateralization in rat brain, exclusively in females, and almost entirely at charge of the oligosaccharide portion. Moreover, age-dependent changes of ganglioside pattern and content show a dependence on brain lateralization.