[en] The de novo biosynthesis of the sphinganine and sphingosine backbones of sphingolipids was studied with isolated rat hepatocytes and established liver cell lines. The rate of incorporation of radiolabel from [¹⁴C]-serine by intact cells was half maximal at 0.3 mM, which is similar to the K/sub m/ of the initial enzyme of this pathway and in vivo concentrations of this substrate. Long-chain base biosynthesis was stimulated by another precursor, palmitic acid, but other fatty acids were inhibitory. Hepatocytes isolated from fed and fasted rats had different rates of sphingolipid formation, which may also reflect the relative levels of palmitoyl-CoA. These results established that the availability of the precursors of long-chain base formation, serine and palmitic acid, is a major factor in the regulation of this pathway. Since sphingomyelin biosynthesis could be modified, its relationship to cholesterol metabolism was also examined. Both hepatocytes and cultured liver cells in high serine (0.6mM) had increased incorporation of [¹⁴C]-acetate into cholesterol (13%, P < 0.05 and 50%, P < 0.01, respectively). These results indicate that sphingolipid and cholesterol biosynthesis are coordinately regulated, perhaps because these lipids are located in similar membranes and lipoproteins