C8-Ceramide

C8-Ceramide (N-Octanoyl-D-erythro-sphingosine) is a cell-permeable analog of naturally occurring ceramides. C8-Ceramide has anti-proliferation properties and acts as a potent chemotherapeutic agent. C8-Ceramide stimulates dendritic cells to promote T cell responses upon virus infections. C8-Ceramide induces slight activation of protein kinase (PKC) in vitro^[1][2][3][4]. In Vitro:C8-ceramide (3 μM; 48 hours) irreversibly reduces tumor-cell proliferation and induces morphological changes^[1].
C8-ceramide can induce necrosis-like cell death, but does not induce caspase-dependent cleavage of PARP (biochemical marker of apoptosis) in human cervical tumor cells^[1].
C8-ceramide may increase the endogenous ROS level (10-30 µM; 24 hours) by regulating the switch of SOD1 and SOD2, causing the anti-proliferation (10-50 µM; 24 hours), and consequently triggering the apoptosis (10-50 µM; 48 hours) of NSCLC H1299 cells^[2].
In Vivo:C8-ceramide (0.1 mg/kg; intranasal administration) induces more robust CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cell responses to viral infections in virus infected mice^[3].