Lipid bilayers contain:
1) Phospholipids
a. Phosphoglycerides
b. Sphingolipids
c. Inositol phospholipids
2) Glycolipids
3) Cholesterol
Phospholipids are the most abundant membrane lipids
The main phospholipid
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Lipid bilayers contain:
1) Phospholipids
a. Phosphoglycerides
b. Sphingolipids
c. Inositol phospholipids
2) Glycolipids
3) Cholesterol
Phospholipids are the most abundant membrane lipids
The main phospholipids in eukaryotes are phosphoglycerides (3C-backbone and two long- chain fatty acid chains)
Many different phosphoglycerides can be made by combining several different fatty acids and head groups. Most abundant ones are phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylcholine in mammalian cell membranes.
Another class of phospholipids are sphingolipids (sphingosine i.o. glycerol. NH2 and two hydroxyl groups at one end). Sphingomyelin is the most abundant in mammals.
A minor class of phospholipids are inositol phospholipids. In the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane they play an important part in cell signalling: in response to extracellular signals, specific lipid kinases phosphorylate the head groups of these lipids to form docking sites for cytosolic signalling proteins.
Cholesterol is a sterol. It contains a rigid ring structure, to which a single polar hydroxyl group and a short nonpolar hydrocarbon chain are attached.
Glycolipids resemble sphingolipids, but i.o. a phosphate-linked head group they have sugars attached.
Bilayers are spontaneously formed by phospholipids since the hydrophobic tails point inwards. Another possibility is that spherical micelles are formed
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