ABSTRACT
All cell membranes consist mostly of an association of lipids and proteins. The proportion of both components differs between different membranes and is not even constant in time for a given membrane. The hydrophobic nature of cell membranes is due to the lipid components, which are water insoluble. Four major classes of lipids can be distinguished in eukaryotic cell membranes: glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, glycosphingolipids, and sterols. The hydrophobic nature of cell membranes is due to the lipid components, which are water insoluble. Glycosphmgolipids are a group of ubiquitous membrane lipids formed from an N-acyl sphinogosine, a ceramide, glycosidically bound to a single hexose or a complex oligosaccharide molecule through the hydroxyl group at the C-1 position. Five subclasses of glycosphingolipids can be differentiated with basically different oligosaccharide moieties. These are named ganglio-, globo-, lacto-, gala-, and mucoglycoceramides. Within each subclass, variations in the oligosaccharide chain give rise to a large variety of glycosphingolipids, particulary in the lacto series.
