Ceramides
Members of the class of neutral glycosphingolipids. They are the basic units of SPHINGOLIPIDS. They are sphingoids attached via their amino groups to a long chain fatty acyl group. They abnormally accumulate in FABRY DISEASE.
Sphingolipids
A class of membrane lipids that have a polar head and two nonpolar tails. They are composed of one molecule of the long-chain amino alcohol sphingosine (4-sphingenine) or one of its derivatives, one molecule of a long-chain acid, a polar head alcohol and sometimes phosphoric acid in diester linkage at the polar head group. (Lehninger et al, Principles of Biochemistry, 2nd ed)
Sphingomyelins
A class of sphingolipids found largely in the brain and other nervous tissue. They contain phosphocholine or phosphoethanolamine as their polar head group so therefore are the only sphingolipids classified as PHOSPHOLIPIDS.
Glucosylceramides
Alkaline Ceramidase
Sphingosine
An amino alcohol with a long unsaturated hydrocarbon chain. Sphingosine and its derivative sphinganine are the major bases of the sphingolipids in mammals. (Dorland, 28th ed)
Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase
An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to ceramide (N-acylsphingosine) plus choline phosphate. A defect in this enzyme leads to NIEMANN-PICK DISEASE. EC 3.1.4.12.
Cerebrosides
Neutral glycosphingolipids that contain a monosaccharide, normally glucose or galactose, in 1-ortho-beta-glycosidic linkage with the primary alcohol of an N-acyl sphingoid (ceramide). In plants the monosaccharide is normally glucose and the sphingoid usually phytosphingosine. In animals, the monosaccharide is usually galactose, though this may vary with the tissue and the sphingoid is usually sphingosine or dihydrosphingosine. (From Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1st ed)
Sphingosine N-Acyltransferase
An enzyme that catalyzes the acyltransferase of SPHINGOSINE to N-acylsphingosine using acyl-COENZYME A as donor and COENZYME A as acceptor. The enzyme is mainly localized in the MITOCHONDRIA.
Ceramidases
Amidohydrolases that are specific for the cleavage of the N-acyl linkage of CERAMIDES. Ceramidases are classified as acidic, neutral or basic according to the optimal pH with which they function.
Serine C-Palmitoyltransferase
A key enzyme in SPHINGOLIPIDS biosynthesis, this enzyme catalyzes the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent condensation of L-SERINE and PALMITOYL COENZYME A to 3-dehydro-D-sphinganine. The enzyme consists of two different subunits.
Chromatography, Thin Layer
Glycosphingolipids
Lipids containing at least one monosaccharide residue and either a sphingoid or a ceramide (CERAMIDES). They are subdivided into NEUTRAL GLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS comprising monoglycosyl- and oligoglycosylsphingoids and monoglycosyl- and oligoglycosylceramides; and ACIDIC GLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS which comprises sialosylglycosylsphingolipids (GANGLIOSIDES); SULFOGLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS (formerly known as sulfatides), glycuronoglycosphingolipids, and phospho- and phosphonoglycosphingolipids. (From IUPAC's webpage)
Epidermis
The external, nonvascular layer of the skin. It is made up, from within outward, of five layers of EPITHELIUM: (1) basal layer (stratum basale epidermidis); (2) spinous layer (stratum spinosum epidermidis); (3) granular layer (stratum granulosum epidermidis); (4) clear layer (stratum lucidum epidermidis); and (5) horny layer (stratum corneum epidermidis).
I Blood-Group System
Chromatography, Gas
Fractionation of a vaporized sample as a consequence of partition between a mobile gaseous phase and a stationary phase held in a column. Two types are gas-solid chromatography, where the fixed phase is a solid, and gas-liquid, in which the stationary phase is a nonvolatile liquid supported on an inert solid matrix.
Water Loss, Insensible
Loss of water by diffusion through the skin and by evaporation from the respiratory tract.
Fatty Acids
Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)
Lipidoses
Conditions characterized by abnormal lipid deposition due to disturbance in lipid metabolism, such as hereditary diseases involving lysosomal enzymes required for lipid breakdown. They are classified either by the enzyme defect or by the type of lipid involved.
Fumonisins
A group of MYCOTOXINS found in CORN contaminated with FUSARIUM fungus. They are chains of about 20 carbons with acidic ester, acetylamino and sometimes other substituents. They inhibit ceramide synthetase conversion of SPHINGOLIPIDS to CERAMIDES.
Acid Ceramidase
A ceramidase subtype that is active at acid pH. It plays an important role in sphingolipid degradation by catalyzing the lysosomal hydrolysis of ceramide to sphingosine and free fatty acid. Inherited deficiency of acid ceramidase activity results in FARBER LIPOGRANULOMATOSIS.
Neutral Glycosphingolipids
A subclass of GLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS containing one or more sugars within their head group connected directly to a ceramide moiety. They consist of monoglycosyl-, and oligoglycosylsphingoids and monoglycosyl- and oligoglycosylceramides.
Lipids
A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)
Sulfoglycosphingolipids
Lipid Metabolism
Physiological processes in biosynthesis (anabolism) and degradation (catabolism) of LIPIDS.
Glycolipids
Lysophospholipids
G(M3) Ganglioside
A ganglioside present in abnormally large amounts in the brain and liver due to a deficient biosynthetic enzyme, G(M3):UDP-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase. Deficiency of this enzyme prevents the formation of G(M2) ganglioside from G(M3) ganglioside and is the cause of an anabolic sphingolipidosis.
Diglycerides
Glucosylceramidase
Molecular Structure
Mass Spectrometry
Fatty Alcohols
Usually high-molecular-weight, straight-chain primary alcohols, but can also range from as few as 4 carbons, derived from natural fats and oils, including lauryl, stearyl, oleyl, and linoleyl alcohols. They are used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, plastics, and lube oils and in textile manufacture. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed)
Skin
The outer covering of the body that protects it from the environment. It is composed of the DERMIS and the EPIDERMIS.
Galactosylceramides
Galactosylgalactosylglucosylceramidase
An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of a ceramidetrihexoside to a ceramidedihexoside plus galactose.
Apoptosis
One of the mechanisms by which CELL DEATH occurs (compare with NECROSIS and AUTOPHAGOCYTOSIS). Apoptosis is the mechanism responsible for the physiological deletion of cells and appears to be intrinsically programmed. It is characterized by distinctive morphologic changes in the nucleus and cytoplasm, chromatin cleavage at regularly spaced sites, and the endonucleolytic cleavage of genomic DNA; (DNA FRAGMENTATION); at internucleosomal sites. This mode of cell death serves as a balance to mitosis in regulating the size of animal tissues and in mediating pathologic processes associated with tumor growth.
Oxidoreductases
The class of all enzymes catalyzing oxidoreduction reactions. The substrate that is oxidized is regarded as a hydrogen donor. The systematic name is based on donor:acceptor oxidoreductase. The recommended name will be dehydrogenase, wherever this is possible; as an alternative, reductase can be used. Oxidase is only used in cases where O2 is the acceptor. (Enzyme Nomenclature, 1992, p9)
Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
A mass spectrometry technique used for analysis of nonvolatile compounds such as proteins and macromolecules. The technique involves preparing electrically charged droplets from analyte molecules dissolved in solvent. The electrically charged droplets enter a vacuum chamber where the solvent is evaporated. Evaporation of solvent reduces the droplet size, thereby increasing the coulombic repulsion within the droplet. As the charged droplets get smaller, the excess charge within them causes them to disintegrate and release analyte molecules. The volatilized analyte molecules are then analyzed by mass spectrometry.
Neutral Ceramidase
Lipid Bilayers
Phospholipase D
Lactosylceramides
Sphingolipidoses
A group of inherited metabolic disorders characterized by the intralysosomal accumulation of SPHINGOLIPIDS primarily in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM and to a variable degree in the visceral organs. They are classified by the enzyme defect in the degradation pathway and the substrate accumulation (or storage). Clinical features vary in subtypes but neurodegeneration is a common sign.
Amidohydrolases
Amidohydrolases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of amides and related compounds, playing a crucial role in various biological processes including the breakdown and synthesis of bioactive molecules.
Spectrophotometry, Infrared
X-Ray Diffraction
The scattering of x-rays by matter, especially crystals, with accompanying variation in intensity due to interference effects. Analysis of the crystal structure of materials is performed by passing x-rays through them and registering the diffraction image of the rays (CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, X-RAY). (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)
Spectrometry, Mass, Fast Atom Bombardment
A mass spectrometric technique that is used for the analysis of a wide range of biomolecules, such as glycoalkaloids, glycoproteins, polysaccharides, and peptides. Positive and negative fast atom bombardment spectra are recorded on a mass spectrometer fitted with an atom gun with xenon as the customary beam. The mass spectra obtained contain molecular weight recognition as well as sequence information.
Glucosyltransferases
Glycerophospholipids
Derivatives of phosphatidic acid in which the hydrophobic regions are composed of two fatty acids and a polar alcohol is joined to the C-3 position of glycerol through a phosphodiester bond. They are named according to their polar head groups, such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.