Ceramides structural domains

S. Hartel, Mi. Eanani, and B. Maggio, Shape transitions and lattice structuring of ceramide-enriched domains generated by sphingomyelinase in lipid monolayers, Biophys. J., 88, 287-304 (2005). 

Megha, Sawatzki P, Kolter T, Bittman R, London E. Effect of ceramide N-acyl chain and polar head group structure on the properties of ordered lipid domains (lipid rafts). Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2007 1768 2205-2212. 

Megha, London E (2004) Ceramide selectively displaces cholesterol from ordered lipid domains (rafts) implications for lipid raft structure and function. J Biol Chem 279 9997-10004... 

Xu X, Bittman R, Duportail G, et al. (2001) Effect of the structure of natural sterols and sphingolipids on the formation of ordered sphingolipid/sterol domains (rafts). Comparison of cholesterol to plant, fungal, and disease-associated sterols and comparison of sphingomyelin, cerebrosides, and ceramide. J Biol Chem 276 33540-33546... 

Sphingolipids are a family of membrane lipids that contribute to the regulation of the fluidity and the sub-domain structure of the lipid bilayers (Futerman and Hannun, 2004). In addition, bioactive sphingolipids such as ceramide. 

Ceramides are the main constituents of the lipid lamellas present in the intocellular domains of the stratum comeum from human skin. They have a main role in the structure and the barrier flmction of the skin, vdiich is fimdamental in the sensitive skin. Recent studies have demonstrated that the liposome structures finmed widi internal wool lipids with a relevant amount of ceramides provide bodi a reinforc ent of the barrier function of the skin and an increase of the cutaneous hydration (1,2). 

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