What are phospholipids and sphingolipids?

What are phospholipids and sphingolipids?

Definition. Phospholipids refer to a lipid containing a phosphate group in its molecule, e.g. phosphatidylcholine, while sphingolipids refer to a class of compounds which are fatty acid derivatives of sphingosine and occur chiefly in the cell membranes of the brain and nervous tissue.

What are two differences between sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids?

Glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids are important constituents of the cell membrane. The glycerophospholipids contain a three carbon glycerol backbone while the sphingolipids contain organic aliphatic amino alcohol sphingosine. This is the key difference between glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids.

What is the difference between a sphingolipid and a glycolipid?

Phospholipids are lipids containing phosphorus. Glycolipids are sugar-containing lipids. Sphingolipids are phospholipids or glycolipids that contain the unsaturated amino alcohol sphingosine rather than glycerol.

What are sphingolipids examples?

Sphingolipids attached to a glycan (or a carbohydrate) is referred to as glycosphingolipid. Examples are cerebrosides and gangliosides. Cerebrosides are glycosphingolipids found in the cell membranes of the neurons and the muscle cells. The cerebroside has a sphingosine core.

What are sphingolipids made of?

Sphingolipids refer to a class of complex phospholipids with a core hydrophobic structure of ceremide, which is composed of a sphingosine head and a long-chain fatty acid chain. They are essential components of plasma membranes.

Is a sphingolipid a phospholipid?

How are gangliosides formed?

Gangliosides are continuously synthesized and degraded in cells. They are degraded to ceramides by sequential removal of sugar units in the oligosaccharide group, catalyzed by a set of highly specific lysosomal enzymes.

Are sphingolipids phospholipids?

What do sphingolipids do?

Sphingolipids are commonly believed to protect the cell surface against harmful environmental factors by forming a mechanically stable and chemically resistant outer leaflet of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer.

How are phospholipids different from other compound lipids?

Compound lipids are the lipids which yield fatty acids, alcohols and other additional groups such as phosphoric acid, nitrogenous base carbohydrates, sulphur, amino acids, proteins, etc. upon hydrolysis. Likewise, Phospholipids and sphingolipids are two types of compound lipids, which are structural components.

How are sphingolipids related to the lipid bilayer?

Sphingolipids may or may not contain phosphate groups. Cell membranes are important structures that separate the internal cell environment from the external environment. They are made up of different constituents such as Glycerophospholipids and Sphingolipids. Glycerophospholipds are considered as the main constituents of the lipid bilayer.

Are there two types of sphingophospholipids in the body?

Also, based on the side chains attached to the sphingosine molecule, there are two types of sphingolipids. They are sphingophospholipids and glycolipids.

Where are sphingolipids found in the nervous system?

Sphingolipids are a type of phospholipids that contain a long chain amino alcohol called sphingosine attached to a fatty acid chain. Hence, the core of the sphingolipids is the sphingosine. Moreover, these are the lipids commonly found in nervous tissue that involve with the signal transmission and cell recognition.