Ceramide

Ceramides are a family of waxy lipid molecules. A ceramide has sphingosine and a fatty acid joined by an amide bond.  Ceramides are found in high gatherings within the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells, since they are lipids that make up sphingomyelin, one of the major lipids in the lipid bilayer.  

Opposite to previous assumptions that ceramides and other sphingolipids found in cell membrane were supporting structural elements, ceramide can participate in a many cellular signalings: likedifferentiation, proliferation, and programmed cell death (PCD) of cells.

 History 
The word ceramide comes from the Latin cera (wax) and amide. Ceramide is a part of vernix caseosa, the waxy or cheese-like white stuff found coating the skin of newborn human infants.

 References 

Category:Lipids
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