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glycosphingolipid
Saturday 11 March 2006
Definition: Glycosphingolipids are ceramides with one or more sugar residues joined in a β-glycosidic linkage at the 1-hydroxyl position. Glycosphingolipids may be further subdivided into cerebrosides and gangliosides. Cerebrosides have a single glucose or galactose at the 1-hydroxy position, while gangliosides have at least three sugars, one of which must be sialic acid.
Glycosphingolipids are a subtype of glycolipids containing the amino alcohol sphingosine (as a subgroup of sphingolipids).
Types
cerebrosides (glucocerebroside and galactocerebroside)
gangliosides
globosides
sulfatides
glycophosphosphingolipids
See also
Lipids
References
Sillence DJ, Platt FM. Glycosphingolipids in endocytic membrane transport. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2004 Aug;15(4):409-16. PMID: 15207831
Sillence DJ, Platt FM. Storage diseases: new insights into sphingolipid functions. Trends Cell Biol. 2003 Apr;13(4):195-203. PMID: 12667757