ACER2/3, alkaline ceramidase 2/3; APOE, apolipoprotein E; ARNT, aryl hydrocarbon nuclear translocator; Adipocyte; Atherosclerosis; CCL5, chemokine (C­C motif) ligand 5; CERS2/4/5/6, ceramide synthase 2/4/5/6; CXCL1, chemokine (C­X­C motif) ligand 1 protein; Ceramide; ChIP, chromatin immunoprecipitation; Cholesterol; CoCl2, cobalt(Ⅱ) chloride; DEGS1, delta(4)-desaturase, sphingolipid 1; EIF5, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5; GFP, green fluorescent protein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HIF-1α; HIF-1α/2α/3α, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha/2 alpha/3 alpha; HREs, HIF-response elements; IL-6/1ß, interleukin-6/1ß; Inflammatory responses; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; MAC-2, lectin, galactose binding, soluble 3; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; PC, phosphatidylcholine; PLS-DA, partial least squares discriminant analysis; PX-478; SGMS1, sphingomyelin synthase 1; SM, sphingomyelin; SMPD1/2/3/4, sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1/2/3/4; SMPD3; SMase, sphingomyelinase; SPTLC1/2/3, serine palmitoyltransferase long chain base subunit 1/2/3; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; VIP, variable importance for the projection; VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein; eWAT, epididymal white adipose tissue