# ORMDL3-ceramide axis in allergic asthma

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $381,250

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 There is a strong genetic component to asthma and numerous genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
have identified ORM (yeast)-like protein isoform 3 (ORMDL3) as a gene associated with susceptibility to
asthma in a number of ethnically diverse populations. However, how ORMDL3 contributes to asthma
pathogenesis and its functions in the lung are not well understood. Our published and preliminary data
uncovered the molecular mechanism for the pathologic functions of ORMDL3 in asthma and the relationship to
its evolutionarily conserved role in regulation of ceramide homeostasis. Our data suggest that physiologically,
ORMDL3 is a negative regulator of serine palmitoyltransferase in de novo ceramide biosynthesis; remarkably
however, highly elevated pathological ORMDL3 expression, such as observed in allergic asthma, enhanced
ceramide levels mainly due to increased recycling/salvage pathway of sphingolipid degradation. In turn,
elevated ceramide exacerbated inflammatory responses. We found that allergen challenge increased
expression of ORMDL3 in mice and concomitantly increased ceramide in lung and bronchoalveolar lavage
fluid. Nasal administration of the immunomodulator FTY720 reduced both ORMDL3 expression and ceramide
production, mitigating airway inflammation and hyperreactivity (AHR). Ceramide levels were also increased in
exhaled breath condensates from a small cohort of asthmatic patients. Hence, we suggest that ceramide is a
new critical player in allergic asthma exacerbation. Our overarching hypothesis is that lung epithelial
expression of ORMDL3 is greatly increased during Th2-mediated allergic asthma leading to an elevation of
ceramide that is critical for induction of AHR and the exacerbation of allergic inflammation. We propose that
ceramide functions through several non-mutually exclusive mechanisms and that ceramide itself may be a
viable therapeutic target and a biomarker for allergic asthma. To test our central hypothesis, in Aim 1 we will
determine how elevated levels of ceramide contribute to allergic lung inflammation in mice. In Aim 2, we will
investigate strategies to target ceramide and explore the cell autonomous role of ORMDL3 and dysregulation
of ceramide in allergic asthma. As additional characterizations of cohorts of asthmatics are needed to better
understand the different phenotypes leading to more personalized targeted approaches of asthma therapy in
Aim 3, we will examine the potential of ceramide as a biomarker for atopic asthma.
 Our proposed studies will help to establish the pathological function of the ORMDL3-ceramide axis, link
enhanced ceramide levels to asthma severity, identify a new player in asthma pathogenesis, and demonstrate
that novel strategies targeting ceramide could be a promising new therapeutic approach.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9849722
- **Project number:** 5R01AI125433-04
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SARAH SPIEGEL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $381,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9849722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9849722, ORMDL3-ceramide axis in allergic asthma (5R01AI125433-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9849722. Licensed CC0.

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