Glycolipid

[2] Glycolipids are found on the surface of all eukaryotic cell membranes, where they extend from the phospholipid bilayer into the extracellular environment.

[2] The essential feature of a glycolipid is the presence of a monosaccharide or oligosaccharide bound to a lipid moiety.

The glycolipid is assembled in the Golgi apparatus and embedded in the surface of a vesicle which is then transported to the cell membrane.

[5] Sphingolipidoses are a group of diseases that are associated with the accumulation of sphingolipids which have not been degraded correctly, normally due to a defect in a glycoside hydrolase enzyme.

The saccharide of the glycolipid will bind to a specific complementary carbohydrate or to a lectin (carbohydrate-binding protein), of a neighboring cell.

Selectins, a class of lectins found on the surface of leukocytes and endothelial cells bind to the carbohydrates attached to glycolipids to initiate the immune response.

This is the initial binding mechanism, which is followed by the expression of integrins which form stronger bonds and allow leukocytes to migrate toward the site of inflammation.