Neutral glycosphingolipids

The simplest neutral glycosphingolipids are the cerebrosides. These are ceramide monosaccharides that contain either a molecule of galactose (forming ceramide-galactose or galactocerebroside, the most common cerebroside found in myelin, as shown in Fig. 1) or glucose (forming ceramide-glucose or glucocerebroside, an intermediate in the synthesis and degradation of the more complex glycosphingolipids). [Note: Members of a group of galacto- or glucocerebrosides may also differ from each other in the type of FA attached to the sphingosine.] As their name implies, cerebrosides are found predominantly in the brain and peripheral nerves, with high concentrations in the myelin sheath. Ceramide oligosaccharides (or globosides) are produced by attaching additional monosaccharides to a glucocerebroside, for example, ceramide-glucose-galactose (also known as lactosylceramide). The additional monosaccharides can include substituted sugars such as N-acetylgalactosamine.

Figure 1: Structure of a neutral glycosphingolipid, galactocerebroside. ( is a hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain.)