Dihydroceramide Desaturase Regulates the Compartmentalization of Rac1 for Neuronal Oxidative Stress

Disruption of sphingolipid homeostasis is known to cause neurological disorders, but the mechanisms by which specific sphingolipid species modulate pathogenesis remain unclear. The last step of de novo sphingolipid synthesis is the conversion of dihydroceramide to ceramide by dihydroceramide desaturase (human DEGS1; Drosophila Ifc). Loss of ifc leads to dihydroceramide accumulation, oxidative stress, and photoreceptor degeneration, whereas human DEGS1 variants are associated with leukodystrophy and neuropathy. In this work, we demonstrate that DEGS1/ifc regulates Rac1 compartmentalization in neuronal cells and that dihydroceramide alters the association of active Rac1 with organelle-mimicking membranes. We further identify the Rac1-NADPH oxidase (NOX) complex as the major cause of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in ifc-knockout (ifc-KO) photoreceptors and in SH-SY5Y cells with the leukodystrophy-associated DEGS1 variant. Suppression of Rac1-NOX activity rescues degeneration of ifc-KO photoreceptors and ameliorates oxidative stress in DEGS1-carrying cells. Therefore, we conclude that DEGS1/ifc deficiency causes dihydroceramide accumulation, resulting in Rac1 mislocalization and NOX-dependent neurodegeneration.