Sphingomyelin 14:0 ‐ a driver of neuroinflammation

We found that S14 is a lipid significantly increased in both human and murine models of obesity or heart disease. S14 is a novel TLR4 agonist that can activate microglia and trigger extensive inflammation. Critically, S14 affects microglial function both ex vivo and in vitro. Together, our data shows that S14 is an endogenous immune stimulus, capable of triggering various innate immune responses and microglial changes that are associated with neuroinflammation and the development of dementia.