kerasin

Description

Galactosylceramides are glycosphingolipids that contain galactose attached to a ceramide containing an N-acyl hydroxy or non-hydroxy fatty acid. They are metabolic precursors to sulfatide , found primarily in nerve tissues, and are the main glycosphingolipids in the central nervous system.^1,2 Galactosylceramides are involved in a multitude of cellular processes including cell agglutination, cellular signaling in glycosynapses, cellular development, and activation of T cells.^1,2,3 They accumulate in globoid cells in the brain of patients with Krabbe disease, a disorder characterized by a deficiency in galactosylcerebrosidase activity.² This product contains non-hydroxy galactosylceramides with primarily C24:0 and C24:1 fatty acyl chain lengths. As this product is derived from a natural source, there may be variations in the sphingoid backbone.

Definition

ChEBI: Beta-D-galactosyl-N-(tetracosanoyl)sphingosine is a N-acyl-beta-D-galactosylsphingosine in which the acyl group is tetracosananoyl. It has a role as a mouse metabolite. It is functionally related to a tetracosanoic acid.

References

1. Boggs, J.M., Gao, W., Zhao, J., et al. Participation of galactosylceramide and sulfatide in glycosynapses between oligodendrocyte or myelin membranes FEBS Lett. 584(9),1771-1778(2010).
2. Wenger, D.A., Rafi, M.A., and Luzi, P. Krabbe disease: One hundred years from the bedside to the bench to the bedside J. Neurosci. Res. 94(11),982-989(2016).
3. Birkholz, A.M., Howell, A.R., and Kronenberg, M. The α and Ω of galactosylceramides in T cell immune function J. Biol. Chem. 290(25),15365-15370(2015).