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Sphingolipids

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Ceramides and sphingomyelins are composed of a sphingoid base and an N-acylated fatty acyl chain, which can vary in length. In mammalian cells, ceramides are generated with acyl tail lengths that fall into two categories:


  • Long Chain Sphingolipids: These have acyl tails of 14–18 carbons.

  • Very Long Chain (VLC) Sphingolipids: These have acyl tails of 20 or more carbons.
    These sphingolipids can be either saturated (having no double bonds) or mono-unsaturated (having one double bond).


York et al. 2024 Nature 627: 628-635

Sphingolipid species with saturated and mono-unsaturated acyl tails ranging from 16 to 24 carbons are in macrophage samples. There are notable differences be…