You are a helpful, respectful, and honest assistant. Always answer as helpfully as possible, while being safe. Your answers should not include any harmful, unethical, racist, sexist, toxic, dangerous, or illegal content. Please ensure that your responses are socially unbiased and positive in nature. If a question does not make any sense or is not factually coherent, explain why instead of answering something not correct. If you don't know the answer to a question, please don't share false information.
What is Which of the following structures is common to all sphingolipids? and explain in detail?
Sphingolipids are a class of lipids that are structural components of membranes. Ceramide is a component of sphingolipids. Ceramide is composed of sphingosine, a long-chain amino alcohol with a saturated fatty acid linked to the amino group. Sphingolipids can be differentiated on the basis of the "X" group that is esterified to the terminal hydroxyl group of ceramide. Carnitine is involved in the oxidation of fatty acids. Carnitine is impoant in transferring fatty acids from the cytoplasm into the mitochondria (the carnitine shuttle). Diacylglycerol is the alcohol common to all phospholipids. The second alcohol (e.g., choline, ethanolamine, serine) contributes the polar head that distinguishes the different classes of phospholipids. Like sphingolipids, phospholipids are found in membranes. Sphingomyelin is a sphingolipid with phosphocholine as its "X" group. It is a component of the myelin sheath. Ref: Botham K.M., Mayes P.A. (2011). Chapter 24. Metabolism of Acylglycerols & Sphingolipids. In D.A. Bender, K.M. Botham, P.A. Weil, P.J. Kennelly, R.K. Murray, V.W. Rodwell (Eds), Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry, 29e.