Cerebroside

Cerebrosides are glycosphingolipids which are important components in animal muscle and nerve cell membranes. Myelin is the most well known cerebroside.

They consist of a ceramide with a single sugar residue at the 1-hydroxyl moiety. The sugar residue can be either glucose or galactose; the two major types are therefore called glucocerebrosides and galactocerebrosides. Galactocerebrosides are typically found in neural tissue, while glucocerebrosides are found in other tissues.

Role in disease

A defect in the degradation of glucocerebrosides is Gaucher's disease. The corresponding defect for galactocerebrosides is Krabbe disease.

External links

• The Lipid Library: Monoglycosylceramides