Glycosphingolipids ceramide moiety

Gangliosides are a class of glycosphingolipid characterized by the presence of one or more sialic acid residues. They are located in the cell membranes, particularly in the plasma membrane, of almost all cell types. They are anchored in the membranes through their ceramide moiety and have the polar sugar-containing group in the extracytoplasmic side. They are particularly abundant in the nervous system where their expression pattern is modulated during development. 

In contrast to the striking divergences in the carbohydrate parts, respective ceramide moieties resemble those of other cestode glycosphingolipids in so far as sphinganine (d18 0) and 4-hydroxy-sphingoid bases (tl 8 0, t20 0) as well as, in part hydroxylated, fatty acids with 16 to 28 carbon atoms, in particular C26 0 and C28 0, represent predominant ceramide constituents, which might be an indication of similar biosynthetic routes. 

Glycosphingolipids have been classified according to their carbohydrate structure rather than their ceramide moieties.They are classified as neutral glycolipids, sulfatides (sulphate-containing) and gangliosides (sialic acid-containing). 

The glycosphingolipids of mammals are known to be cellular-membrane components,1"5 organized in such a way that their lipid moiety, namely, acylated sphingosine (usually called ceramide), is submerged into the outer leaflet of the plasma-membrane bilayer, and contributes to its structural... 

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