title: Biochemical studies on sphingolipid of Artemia franciscana (I) isolation and characterization of sphingomyelin.
abstract: Sphingomyelin was isolated from cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana using QAE-Sephadex A25, Florisil and Iatrobeads column chromatographies. The chemical structure was identified using thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The ceramide moiety of sphingomyelin consisted of stearic, arachidic, and behenic acids as fatty acids, and hexadeca-4- and heptadeca-4-sphingenines as sphingoids. By comparative analysis, the ceramide component of Artemia sphingomyelin appears unique in invertebrates and vertebrates. Biological functions of sphingomyelin have largely been investigated using mammalian-derived sphingomyelin. In mammals, a wide variety of molecular species of sphingomyelins have been reported, especially derived from nerve tissue, while the lower animal Artemia contains this unusual sphingomyelin perhaps because of having a much simpler nervous system. The purified unusual sphingomyelin derived from Artemia franciscana might be a very useful tool in elucidating the functions and mechanisms of action of this mediator.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Nojihigashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.forename: Saki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itonori
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000737:chemistry*; D002518:Ceramides / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D013109:Sphingomyelins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D002518:Ceramides; D005227:Fatty Acids; D013109:Sphingomyelins