In particular, ceramides are considered to be proinflammatory lipids in lung epithelium, and pharmacological inhibition of their synthesis by acid sphingomyelinase may reduce organ damage due to reactive oxygen species and inflammation in mouse models of sepsis [12, 13] and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis [14]. This evidence concerns the gene SMPD1 and cystic fibrosis.