title: A novel ceramide trihexoside from the eggs of the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus.
abstract: Glucosylceramide (Glc beta 1-1Cer) and a novel ceramide trihexoside (Gal beta 1-6Gal beta 1-6Glc beta 1-1Cer) were purified from the eggs of the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. Their chemical structures were determined by gas-liquid chromatography, methylation analysis, chromic acid oxidation, enzymatic hydrolysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The ceramide trihexoside has a novel carbohydrate structure, and its core structure, Gal beta 1-6Glc, is also novel. The ceramide moieties of these glycolipids are almost identical. Two fatty acids, 22:1 and 22h:1, constitute more than 80% of the total acids. Long-chain bases are all phytosphingosine, approximately 90% of which is n-t18:0. The finding of melibiosylceramide (Gal alpha 1-6Glc beta 1-1Cer) from the eggs of another sea urchin species [Kubo, H. et al. (1988) J. Biochem. 104, 755-760] and the present finding of the novel ceramide trihexoside suggest that there are a variety of unique sugar structures in sea urchin glycosphingolipids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kanagawa.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoshi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010063:Ovum / Q000737:chemistry; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000737:chemistry*; D016339:Spectrometry, Mass, Fast Atom Bombardment; D014281:Trihexosylceramides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D014281:Trihexosylceramides