Biology:Galactosylceramide

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A galactosylceramide, or galactocerebroside is a type of cerebroside consisting of a ceramide with a galactose residue at the 1-hydroxyl moiety.

The galactose is cleaved by galactosylceramidase.

Galactosylceramide is a marker for oligodendrocytes in the brain, whether or not they form myelin.[1][2]

α-Galactosylceramides are immunomodulatory and prevents or reduces autoimmune disorders such as Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, bowel disease.[3] Studies have found α-Galactosylceramides in the large intestines, produced by Bacteriodes, which activate iNKT cells via a CD1 dependent mechanism and plays a role in immune regulation.[4]

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References

  1. Raff, Martin C.; Mirsky, Rhona; Fields, K. L.; Lisak, Robert P.; Dorfman, Susan H.; Silberberg, Donald H.; Gregson, N. A.; Leibowitz, Sidney et al. (1978). "Galactocerebroside is a specific cell-surface antigenic marker for oligodendrocytes in culture". Nature 274 (5673): 813–816. doi:10.1038/274813a0. PMID 355894. 
  2. Jessen, K. R.; Morgan, L.; Brammer, M.; Mirsky, R. (1985). "Galactocerebroside is expressed by non-myelin-forming Schwann cells in situ". The Journal of Cell Biology 101 (3): 1135–1143. doi:10.1083/jcb.101.3.1135. PMID 3897245. 
  3. Kaer, Luc Van (January 2005). "α-Galactosylceramide therapy for autoimmune diseases: prospects and obstacles" (in en). Nature Reviews Immunology 5 (1): 31–42. doi:10.1038/nri1531. ISSN 1474-1741. PMID 15630427. https://www.nature.com/articles/nri1531. 
  4. Carr, Rotonya M. (November 2019). "α-Galactosylceramide: a potent immunomodulator produced by gut microbes". Journal of Lipid Research 60 (11): 1805–1806. doi:10.1194/jlr.C119000437. ISSN 1539-7262. PMID 31575643.