Ursodeoxycholic acid differentially affects three types of sphingomyelinase in human colon cancer Caco 2 cells.
We investigated the effects of UDCA on sphingomyelinase (SMase) in Caco 2 cells cultured in monolayer and polarized conditions. Alkaline SMase activity was high in polarized cells whereas. acid and neutral SMase activities were high in monolayer cells. In polarized cells, UDCA increased alkaline SMase expression and caspase 3 activity but had no effect on acid and neutral SMases. In monolayer cell