Sphingosine
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| Names | |
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| Preferred IUPAC name
(2S,3R,4E)-2-Aminooctadec-4-ene-1,3-diol | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.004.230 |
PubChem CID
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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| Properties | |
| C18H37NO2 | |
| Molar mass | 299.499 g·mol−1 |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Sphingosine (2-amino-4-trans-octadecene-1,3-diol) is an 18-carbon amino alcohol with an unsaturated hydrocarbon chain, which forms a primary part of sphingolipids, a class of cell membrane lipids that include sphingomyelin, an important phospholipid.
Functions
[edit]Sphingosine can be phosphorylated in vivo via two kinases, sphingosine kinase type 1 and sphingosine kinase type 2. This leads to the formation of sphingosine-1-phosphate, a potent signaling lipid.
Sphingolipid metabolites, such as ceramides, sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate, are lipid signaling molecules involved in diverse cellular processes.
Biosynthesis
[edit]Sphingosine is synthesized from palmitoyl CoA and serine in a condensation required to yield sphinganine (dihydrosphingosine).
Dehydrosphingosine is then reduced by NADPH to sphinganine, acylated to dihydroceramide, and finally oxidized by FAD to ceramide. Sphingosine is then solely formed via degradation of sphingolipid in the lysosome.
Gallery
[edit]-
Sphingolipidoses
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General structures of sphingolipids
See also
[edit]Literature
[edit]- Radin N (2003). "Killing tumours by ceramide-induced apoptosis: a critique of available drugs". Biochem J. 371 (Pt 2): 243–56. doi:10.1042/BJ20021878. PMC 1223313. PMID 12558497. article
- Carter, Herbert E.; Glick, Francis J.; Norris, William P.; Phillips, George E. (1947). "Biochemistry of the sphingolipides. III. Structure of sphingosine". J. Biol. Chem. 170 (1): 285–295. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(17)34955-4.
External links
[edit]- Sphingosine at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Sphingosine
View on GrokipediaChemical Characteristics
Molecular Structure
Sphingosine is an 18-carbon aliphatic amino alcohol with the molecular formula C₁₈H₃₇NO₂ and a molar mass of 299.499 g·mol⁻¹.[3] Its preferred IUPAC name is (2S,3R,4E)-2-aminooctadec-4-ene-1,3-diol.[3] The molecule features a long hydrocarbon chain with a trans double bond between carbons 4 and 5, conferring a degree of unsaturation to the otherwise saturated alkyl backbone.[3] At one end of this chain, carbon 1 bears a primary hydroxyl group (-CH₂OH), carbon 2 has an amino group (-NH₂), and carbon 3 carries a secondary hydroxyl group (-CHOH-), forming the characteristic sphingoid base structure.[4] Sphingosine exhibits specific stereochemistry at the chiral centers, with the (2S,3R) configuration corresponding to the naturally occurring D-erythro isomer, which imparts chirality essential to its biochemical identity.[3] In terms of polarity, sphingosine possesses a hydrophilic head group consisting of the amino and hydroxyl functionalities clustered at carbons 1–3, contrasted by a hydrophobic tail formed by the extended unsaturated alkyl chain spanning carbons 5–18.[3] This amphipathic arrangement is depicted in structural representations as: HO-CH₂
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H₂N-CH-CH-OH
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C=C-(CH₂)₁₂-CH₃
(trans)
where the left side illustrates the polar head and the right the nonpolar tail.[3]

