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Blood types are an example of how glycolipids on cell membranes mediate cell interactions with the surrounding environment. The four main human blood types (A, B, AB, O) are determined by the oligosaccharide attached to a specific glycolipid on the surface of red blood cells, which acts as an antigen. The unmodified antigen, called the H ...
The glycocalyx, which is located on the apical surface of endothelial cells, is composed of a negatively charged network of proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and glycolipids. [8] Along the luminal surface of the vascular glycocalyx exists an empty layer that excludes red blood cells.
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins , carbohydrates , glycoproteins , or glycolipids , depending on the blood group system.
The structural similarity of most glycolipids is the so-called lactosylceramide, that is, a lactose disaccharide that is glycosidically bound to a ceramide. Larger structures are subdivided into different groups by the sequence and configuration of the sugars, the four most common being globo-, lacto-, neoLacto- and gangliose.
The heads of glycolipids (glyco- stands for sugar) contain a sphingosine with one or several sugar units attached to it. The hydrophobic chains belong either to: two fatty acids (FA) – in the case of the phosphoglycerides, or; one FA and the hydrocarbon tail of sphingosine – in the case of sphingomyelin and the glycolipids.
An important example of oligosaccharide cell recognition is the role of glycolipids in determining blood types. The various blood types are distinguished by the glycan modification present on the surface of blood cells. [15] These can be visualized using mass spectrometry.
components of the zona pellucida, which surrounds the oocyte, and is important for sperm-egg interaction. structural glycoproteins, which occur in connective tissue. These help bind together the fibers, cells, and ground substance of connective tissue. They may also help components of the tissue bind to inorganic substances, such as calcium in ...
These help organize membrane components into localized areas that are involved in specific processes, such as signal transduction. Red blood cells, or erythrocytes, have a unique lipid composition. The bilayer of red blood cells is composed of cholesterol and phospholipids in equal proportions by weight. [7]