Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named after the mythological sphinx because of their enigmatic nature. These compounds play important roles in signal transduction and cell recognition. Sphingolipidoses, or disorders of sphingolipid metabolism, have particular impact on neural tissue. A sphingolipid with an R group consisting of a hydrogen atom only is a ceramide. Other common R groups include phosphocholine, yielding a sphingomyelin, and various sugar monomers or dimers, yielding cerebrosides and globosides, respectively. Cerebrosides and globosides are collectively known as glycosphingolipids. Structure The long-chain bases, sometimes simply known as sphingoid bases, are the first non-transient products of de novo sphingolipid synthesis in both yeast and mammals. These compounds, specifically known as phytosphingosine and dihydrosphingosine (also known as sphinganine, although this term is less common), are mainly C18 compounds, with somewhat lower levels of C20 bases. Ceramides and glycosphingolipids are N-acyl derivatives of these compounds. The sphingosine backbone is O-linked to a (usually) charged head group such as ethanolamine, serine, or choline. The backbone is also amide-linked to an acyl group, such as a fatty acid. Types Simple sphingolipids, which include the sphingoid bases and ceramides, make up the early products of the sphingolipid synthetic pathways. Sphingoid bases are the fundamental building blocks of all sphingolipids. The main mammalian sphingoid bases are dihydrosphingosine and sphingosine, while dihydrosphingosine and phytosphingosine are the principal sphingoid bases in yeast. Sphingosine, dihydrosphingosine, and phytosphingosine may be phosphorylated. Ceramides, as a general class, are N-acylated sphingoid bases lacking additional head groups. Dihydroceramide is produced by N-acylation of dihydrosphingosine. Dihydroceramide is found in both yeast and mammalian systems. Ceramide is produced in mammalian systems by desaturation of dihydroceramide by dihydroceramide desaturase 1 (DES1). This highly bioactive molecule may also be phosphorylated to form ceramide-1-phosphate. Phytoceramide is produced in yeast by hydroxylation of dihydroceramide at C-4. Complex sphingolipids may be formed by addition of head groups to ceramide or phytoceramide: Sphingomyelins have a phosphocholine or phosphoethanolamine molecule with an ester linkage to the 1-hydroxy group of a ceramide. Glycosphingolipids are ceramides with one or more sugar residues joined in a β-glycosidic linkage at the 1-hydroxyl position (see image). Cerebrosides have a single glucose or galactose at the 1-hydroxy position. Sulfatides are sulfated cerebrosides. Gangliosides have at least three sugars, one of