Degroote Sophie, Wolthoorn Jasja, van Meer Gerrit
Department of Membrane Enzymology, Institute of Biomembranes, H.R. Kruytgebouw, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2004 Aug;15(4):375-87. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2004.03.007.
Glycosphingolipids, a family of heterogeneous lipids with biophysical properties conserved from fungi to mammals, are key components of cellular membranes. Because of their tightly packed backbone, they have the ability to associate with other sphingolipids and cholesterol to form microdomains called lipid rafts, with which a variety of proteins associate. These microdomains are thought to originate in the Golgi apparatus, where most sphingolipids are synthesized, and are enriched at the plasma membrane. They are involved in an increasing number of processes, including sorting of proteins by allowing selectivity in intracellular membrane transport. Apart from being involved in recognition and signaling on the cell surface, glycosphingolipids may fulfill unexpected roles on the cytosolic surface of cellular membranes.
糖鞘脂是一类从真菌到哺乳动物都具有保守生物物理特性的异质性脂质，是细胞膜的关键组成部分。由于其紧密堆积的骨架，它们能够与其他鞘脂和胆固醇结合形成称为脂筏的微结构域，多种蛋白质与之结合。这些微结构域被认为起源于高尔基体，大多数鞘脂在高尔基体中合成，并在质膜处富集。它们参与越来越多的过程，包括通过在细胞内膜运输中允许选择性来进行蛋白质分选。除了参与细胞表面的识别和信号传导外，糖鞘脂可能在细胞膜的胞质表面发挥意想不到的作用。
