Sphingolipid

Definition

Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, which are a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx because of their enigmatic nature. These compounds play important roles in signal transduction and cell recognition. Sphingolipidoses, or disorders of sphingolipid metabolism, have particular impact on neural tissue. A sphingolipid with a terminal hydroxyl group is a ceramide. Other common groups bonded to the terminal oxygen atom include phosphocholine, yielding a sphingomyelin, and various sugar monomers or dimers, yielding cerebrosides and globosides, respectively. Cerebrosides and globosides are collectively known as glycosphingolipids.

Related concepts

ACER1 ACER2 ACER3 ASAH1 ASAH2 ASAH2B ASAH2C Acyl-CoA Acyl group Alcohol (chemistry)Aliphatic Alpha-galactosidase Amino Amino acid Apoptosis Archaea Arylsulfatase A Ashkenazi Jews Autophagy Autosomal recessive Bacteria Bdellovibrionota Beta-galactosidase CLN3 CLN5 CLN6 CLN8 Calcineurin Candida albicans Caveolae Cell cycle Cell growth Cell junction Cell membrane Cell recognition Cell signaling Cellular differentiation Ceramidase Ceramide Ceramide-1-phosphate Ceramide glucosyltransferase Ceramide kinase Ceramides Cerebroside Choline Colorectal cancer Cytoskeletal Cytosol De novo synthesis Diacylglycerol Dimerization (chemistry)Endocytosis Endoplasmic reticulum Endosomes Enzyme Enzyme replacement therapy Ester Ethanolamine Eukaryotes FCB group Fabry disease Fatty acid Fatty acyl-CoA Forssman antigen Friedreich's ataxia GD2 GM1 GM2 (ganglioside)GM3 Galactocerebroside Galactose Galactosylceramidase Galactosylceramide synthase Ganglioside Gangliosides Gaucher disease Globo H Globoside Globosides Globotriaosylceramide Glucocerebrosidase Glucocerebroside Glucose Glucosylceramide synthase Glycocalyx Glycoconjugate Glycolipid Glycosidic Glycosphingolipid Glycosphingolipids Glycosyltransferase Golgi apparatus HEXA HEXB High-density lipoprotein Incidence (epidemiology)Inflammation Inositol Integral membrane protein Krabbe disease Lactosylceramide Lipid Lipid-anchored protein Lipid bilayer Lipid metabolism Lipid raft Lipoprotein Low-density lipoprotein Mannose Medical Subject Headings Membrane contact site Membrane glycoproteins Membrane lipid Membrane nanotube Membrane protein Metabolic intermediate Metabolism Metabolite Metachromatic leukodystrophy Mitochondria Model organism Monomer Myelin Myxococcota Necrosis Neural tissue Neuraminidase Neurodegeneration Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis Niemann-Pick disease Node of Ranvier Nuclear envelope Open reading frame Palmitoyl-CoA Palmitoyl protein thioesterase Peripheral membrane protein Phase (matter)Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate Phosphocholine Phosphoethanolamine Phospholipid Phosphorylcholine Phycobilisome Phytoceramide Phytosphingosine Plasma membrane Porosome Protein Proteolysis SPTLC1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Schizosaccharomyces pombe Senescence Serine Serine C-palmitoyltransferase Serine palmitoyltransferase Sialic acid Signal transduction Sphinganine Sphingobacteria (phylum)Sphingolipidoses Sphingomonadaceae Sphingomyelin Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 Sphingomyelin synthase Sphingosine Sphingosine-1-phosphate Sphingosine N-acyltransferase Sphingosine kinase Sphingosyl phosphatide Sphinx Stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 Sterol Sugar Sulfatide Sulfotransferase Superphylum Tay–Sachs disease Translation (biology)Transmembrane protein Tripeptidyl peptidase I UGCG X-linked

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