Lipids are a fundamental class of organic molecules implicated in a wide range of biological
processes related to their structural diversity, and based on this can be broadly classified …

Much has been made about JLW Thudichum's colorful, and one could say clairvoyant,
naming of sphingosine “in commemoration of the many enigmas which it presented to the …

S phingolipids constitute a class of lipids defined by their eighteen carbon amino-alcohol
backbones which are synthesized in the ER from nonsphingolipid precursors. Modification …

Membrane biology seeks to understand how lipids and proteins within bilayers assemble
into large structures such as organelles and the plasma membranes. Historically, lipids were …

Ceramides are the major lipid constituent of lamellar sheets present in the intercellular
spaces of the stratum corneum. These lamellar sheets are thought to provide the barrier …

The cellular lipidome comprises over 1000 different lipids. Most lipids look similar having a
polar head and hydrophobic tails. Still, cells recognize lipids with exquisite specificity. The …

Sphingolipids are comprised of a backbone sphingoid base that may be phosphorylated,
acylated, glycosylated, bridged to various headgroups through phosphodiester linkages, or …

1280 SCIENCE• VOL. 261• 3SEPTEMBER 1993 current mechanism to drive the net forward
transport of molecules such as cholesterol. Indeed, the original function of the Golgi …

Chitin is the most widespread amino polysaccharide in nature. The annual global amount of
chitin is believed to be only one order of magnitude less than that of cellulose. It is a linear …

Ceramide, the precursor of all complex sphingolipids, is a potent signaling molecule that
mediates key events of cellular pathophysiology. In the nervous system, the sphingolipid …