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The first clear evidence for the existence of lacto-series glycolipids was the
isolation and characterization of sialosyl-lacto-N-neotetraosylceramide by
Kuhn and Wiegandt in 1964
Subsequently, another lacto-series of glycolipids substituted with a fucose
residue found to accumulate in some human adenocarcinomas
o the structure was identified as lacto-N-fucopentoase (III) ceramide
an extensively purified glycolipid fraction with blood group A, B, and H
activities was found to compromise lacto-series glycolipids containing
N-acetyl glucosamine and fucose
A ceramide tetrasaccharide called paragloboside was identified as lacto-Nneotetraosylceramide
Other lacto-series compounds were then found, including ceramide
pentasaccharide from rabbit erythrocytes and fucose- and glucosaminecontaining glycolipid of gastrointestinal mucosa.
Consequently, a number of glycolipids have been isolated and characterized
as blood groups ABH, Lewis, Ii, and P1 antigens all of which possess lactoseries structures.
Lacto-series constitute the major glycolipid component of various tissues and
organs and its sialosyl derivatives represent the major ganglioside of
extraneural tissues
However, a small quantity of lacto-N-fucopentaosyl(III)ceramide and its
sialosyl derivative were found in brain
The carbohydrate chains of lacto-series glycolipids are extensively
substituted with fucosyl, sialosyl, and alpha or beta-galactosyl, and with a
repeating Gal4GlcNAc structure
Combinations of these substitutions also occur resulting in a large variety of
glycolipid structure.
Have the same first two sugars with other long carbohydrate chain neutral
glycosphingolipids lactosylceramide is the starting material for synthesis of
these compounds
When another galactosamine is linked to lactosylceramide by a (1 3)
linkage, lacto- and lactoneo-series glycolipids are produced
This trihexosylceramides can be further elongated by addition of one or
several galactose or N-acetylgalactosamines.
Another is Gal-GlcNAc-Gal-Glc-ceramide from lactosylceramide (L c4Cer).
They are blood-group-active lipids.
As with the long chain GSLs, our lack of information is due to the rather poor
substrate specificities if the various glycosyltransferases, and in addition, the
difficulty in isolating these complex glycolipids.
The biosynthesis of this series begins with the addition of an Nacetlyglucosamine to lactosylceramide by a (1->3) linkage to form
lactotriosyl ceramide
The first triose in the lacto category, Lc3 (GlcNAc1-3Gal1-4Glc1Cer), is
important for embryonic development especially in the brain.
2
GLYCOSPHINGOLIPIDS: Introduction
Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are a type of glycolipid. They are found in the cell
membranes of organisms from bacteria to man, and are the major glycans of
the vertebrate brain, where more than 80% of glycoconjugates are in the
form of glycolipids.
The first glycolipid to be structurally characterized was galactosylceramide
(GalCer). Among the simplest of glycolipids, it is also one of the most
abundant molecules in the brain. It consists of a single galactose residue in
glycosidic linkage to the C-1 hydroxyl group of a lipid moiety called ceramide.
Action types are: Transregulation: opposing plasma membrane and Cis
regulation: same plasma membrane.