Synthesis of a novel ceramide analogue via Tebbe methylenation and evaluation of its antiproliferative activity.

[reaction: see text] A new analogue of (2S,3R)-ceramide (2) with a methylene group at C4 has been synthesized from d-tartaric acid (3) by using Tebbe methylenation as the key step. Compound 2 exhibited markedly higher antiproliferative activity on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells than natural (2S,3R,4E)-ceramide (1).