Glycolipid
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2008-07-02T10:51:12Z
BOTarate
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robot Modifying: [[cs:Glykolipidy]]
[[Image:Glycolipids.png|thumb|right|350px|Chemical structure of glycolipids]]'''Glycolipids''' are [[carbohydrate]]-attached [[lipids]]. Their role is to provide [[energy]] and also serve as [[genetic marker|markers]] for [[Cell (biology)|cellular]] recognition.
They occur where a [[carbohydrate]] chain is associated with [[phospholipid]]s on the exoplasmic surface of the [[cell (biology)|cell]] [[biological membrane|membrane]]. The carbohydrates are found on the outer surface of all [[eukaryotic]] cell membranes.
They extend from the phospholipid bilayer into the aqueous environment outside the cell where it acts as a recognition site for specific chemicals as well as helping to maintain the stability of the membrane and attaching cells to one another to form [[biological tissue|tissues]].
== Types of glycolipids ==
The following is an incomplete listing of glycolipid types.
{{listdev}}
* [[Galactolipid]]s
* [[Sulfolipid]]s ([[SQDG]])
* [[Glycosphingolipid]]s
** [[Cerebroside]]s
*** [[Galactocerebroside]]s
*** [[Glucocerebroside]]s
**** [[Glucobicaranateoets]]
** [[Ganglioside]]s (the most complex animal glycolipids; contain negatively charged oligosacchrides with one or more sialic acid residues; more than 40 different gangliosides have been identified; they are most abundant in nerve cells)
** [[Globoside]]s
** [[Sulfatide]]s
** [[Glycophosphosphingolipid]]s (complex glycophospholipids from fungi, including yeasts, and in plants, where they were originally called "phytoglycolipids" by Herbert Carter, et al., may comprise as complicated a set of compounds as the negatively charged gangliosides in animals. The head group of a glycolipid is composed of sugars.
== See also ==
*[[Glycocalyx]]
*[[Glycoproteins]]
==External links==
* {{MeshName|Glycolipids}}
[[Category:Lipids]]
{{Biochemistry-stub}}
{{Sphingolipids}}
{{Glycolipid metabolism}}
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