Abstract
The fatty acid composition of cerebrosides and sulfatides from frontal lobe gray and white matter was determined for five fresh and four formalinized adult brains and for eight infants. Fatty acid patterns were unaffected by formalinization, but varied considerably from one another in the proportion of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids. The percentages of 24:0 and 24:1 increased with age. Cerebrosides obtained from areas such as the brainstem and cerebellum, where myelination was more advanced, tended to have a larger proportion of long-chain fatty acids than samples extracted from frontal or parietal lobe white matter. Hydroxy fatty acids showed an adult pattern in all instances in which amounts sufficient for accurate quantification could be isolated. Lipid hexose, cerebroside + sulfatide hexose, and methanoleluted hexose were measured in the brains of 12 infants ranging in age from a 4 month fetus to 2 yr. In the most immature, the majority of lipid hexose was in the form of glycolipids more polar than cerebrosides and sulfatides. These have tentatively been identified as hematosides and globosides. With maturation, cerebrosides and sulfatides increased progressively, but the amounts of the more polar glycolipids remained constant in relation to the total lipid content of tissue.
Highlights
The percentages of 24:O and 24:l increased with age
Values for cerebroside and sulfatide content found in the present study agree quite well with those obtained by previous workers who used column chromatography to separate human cerebral lipids, notably Svennerholm [3] and O’Brien and Sampson [8]
We too found that cerebrosides and sulfatides from adult gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) contain predominantly long-chain fatty acids (CZZ-CZ,)
Summary
The percentages of 24:O and 24:l increased with age. Cerebrosides obtained from areas such as the brainstem and cerebellum, where myelination was more advanced, tended to have a larger proportion of long-chain fatty acids than samples extracted from frontal or parietal lobe white matter. The majority of lipid hexose was in the form of glycolipids more polar than cerebrosides and sulfatides. These have tentatively been identified as hematosides and globosides. Cerebrosides and sulfatides increased progressively, but the amounts of the more polar glycolipids remained constant in relation to the total lipid content of tissue. Very long-chain nonhydroxy and hydroxy fatty acids, principally lignoceric, cerebronic, nervonic, and a-hydroxy nervonic acids, predominate in glycolipids isolated from white matter, and lesser amounts of stearic and palmitic acids are present. I n contrast to those in white matter, cerebrosides isolated from cortical gray matter, cerebellum, and spinal cord contain a smaller percentage of and larger amounts of CIS and Cla fatty acids [2]. I n the course of a previously reported study on the composition of cerebral glycolipids in a n infant with
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
