The Stored Lipid

The occurrence of sulfatides in brain was already suspected by Thudichum (1884,1901). Koch (1910) isolated from brain a sulfur-containing Upid which, in 

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Tsh e 2. Histochemical differentiation of the stored lipids in several disturbances of lipid metabolism... 

Differential diagnosis from Tay-Sachs disease is possible on the basis of visceral storage, from Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher s disease through the identification of the stored lipid and from Hurler s syndrome by the storage and excretion of acid mucopolysaccharides in the latter. 

Through the work of Klenk (1934, 1935) it is known that sphingomyelin is the major component of the stored lipids in NPD. In addition, an increased cholesterol content of liver, spleen and brain has been found by Sobotka et al. 

Histochemical properties of skin vessels are similar to those of the vasculature of other tissues. The diagnosis of ACD is therefore established most easily by means of a skin biopsy. Ruiter (1954), Pittelkow et al. (1957), de Groot (1961,1964), VON Gemmingen (1965) have described specific staining methods for the stored lipid. Although its histochemical behaviour resembles that of phospholipids, Lapiere (1957) could not find increased phosphatides upon chemical analyses. In most other cases chemical analyses were not performed. 

It is probable that the stored lipid of ACD occurs normally in small amounts. SvENNERHOLM and SvENNERHOLM (1963) found a trihexoside with a proportion of ceramide glucose galactose of 1 1 2 in plasma and Martens son et al. (1966) found a trihexoside in kidney lipids of normals in addition to dihexoside. 

Triacylglycerols are the major energy-storing lipids, whereas phosphoglycerols, sphingomyelin, and gly-cosphingolipids are amphipathic and have structural functions in cell membranes as well as other specialized roles. 

Oleosomes — Also called oil bodies, oleosomes are the natural equivalents of liposomes. They are found in plant seeds or fruits, filled with oils, pigments, and vitamins, and serve as specific organelles to store lipid molecules. A protocol to... 

Adipose tissue Fat tissue making up about 10% of the adult body weight but with a different distribution between males and females it consists of clusters of adipocytes which synthesise and store lipids (fats). 

Figure 16 shows the experimental arrangement for the measurement of the surface pressure. The trough (200 mm long, 50 mm wide and 10 mm deep) was coated with Teflon. The subphase temperature was controlled within 0.1 C by means of a jacket connected to a thermostated water circulator, and the environmental air temperature was kept at 18 °C. The surface tension was measured with a Wilhelmy plate of platinum(24.5 x 10.0 x 0.15 mm). The surface pressure monitored by an electronic balance was successively stored in a micro- computer, and then Fourier transformed to a frequency domain. The surface area was changed successively in a sinusoidal manner, between 37.5 A2/molecule and 62.5 A2/molecule. We have chosen an unsaturated phospholipid(l,2-dioleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidyI-choline DOPC) as a curious sample to measure the dynamic surface tension with this novel instrument, as the unsaturated lipids play an important role in biomembranes and, moreover, such a "fluid" lipid was expected to exhibit marked dynamic, nonlinear characteristics. The spreading solution was 0.133 mM chloroform solution of DOPC. The chloroform was purified with three consecutive distillations. 

The various roles of fats were summarised in the introduction to this chapter. Two questions arise from this what is the advantage of storing lipid as the major energy reserve Why are there three lipid fuels in the blood while there is only one carbohydrate fuel ... 

Fish with more than 10% wax esters in the total lipids of body tissues are uncommon. When higher levels of wax esters are found in epipelagic fish species, they are mainly stored in roe and the body lipids of these fish... 

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