What is Glycolipids
Glycolipids occur in all types of organisms, i.e., bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. They are essential constituents of cellular membranes comprised of a hydrophobic lipid tail and one or more hydrophilic sugar groups linked by a glycosidic bond. The basic structure of a glycolipid consists of a mono- or oligosaccharide group attached to a sphingolipid or a glycerol group with one or two fatty acids. These make up the classes of glycosphingolipids and glycoglycerolipids, respectively. Glycolipids interact and bind to the lipid-bilayer through the hydrophobic nature of the lipid tail which anchors it to the surface of the plasma membrane. The carbohydrate residues of membrane glycolipids and glycoproteins are normally located on the exterior surface of cell membranes. This occurs because carbohydrates are hydrophilic, thus preferring the aqueous outside surface of plasma membranes over the more lipid-rich, hydrocarbon core. Glycolipids are found widely on the outer leaflet of cellular membranes where they play not only a structural role to maintain membrane stability but also facilitate cell-cell communication acting as receptors, anchors for proteins and regulators of signal transduction, but not exclusively, to the plasma membrane.
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