Glycosphingolipid

Glycosphingolipids are a group of lipids (more specifically, sphingolipids) and are a part of the cell membrane.

The structural similarity of most glycolipids is the so-called lactosylceramide, that is, a lactose disaccharide that is glycosidically bound to a ceramide.

Larger structures are subdivided into different groups by the sequence and configuration of the sugars, the four most common being globo-, lacto-, neoLacto- and gangliose.

Sialic acids are, for example, part of the so-called sialyl-Lewis-x structure, a tetrasaccharide, which is important for various signal transduction processes.

Inheritable enzyme defects can lead to disruption in degradation and therefore to accumulation of glycolipids in various organs.