Sulfatide (bovine) (sodium salt) (Synonyms: Galactosylceramide I3-sulfate, Ganglioside SM4, I3SO3-GalCer, SM4, Sulfated Galactocerebroside, 3-O-Sulfogalactosylceramide)

Sulfatide are endogenous sulfoglycolipids with various biological activities in the central and peripheral nervous systems, pancreas, and immune system.¹ They are produced from the combination of ceramide and UDP-galactose in the endoplasmic reticulum followed by sulfation in the Golgi apparatus. The ceramide portion contains variable fatty acid chain lengths, which are tissue- and pathology-dependent. Sulfatide are primarily found in the myelin sheath of oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells, with smaller chain lengths predominant during development and longer chain lengths predominant in mature cells.² They accumulate in the lysosome of patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a disorder characterized by arylsulfatase A deficiency.^3,1 Sulfatide are also located in pancreatic β-cells and inhibit insulin release from isolated rat pancreatic islet cells, suggesting a potential role in diabetes.⁴ Sulfatides can induce inflammation in glia in vitro and certain sulfatides, such as C24:1 3'-sulfo-galactosylceramide, can induce an immune response in vitro in mouse splenocytes.^5,6 This product contains sulfatide molecular species with primarily C24:1 fatty acyl chain lengths. As this product is derived from a natural source, there may be variations in the sphingoid backbone. [Matreya, LLC. Catalog No. 1049]

1.Takahashi, T., and Suzuki, T.Role of sulfatide in normal and pathological cells and tissuesJ. Lipid Res.53(8)1437-1450(2012) 2.Svennerholm, L., and StÄllberg-Stenhagen, S.Changes in the fatty acid composition of cerebrosides and sulfatides of human nervous tissue with ageJ. Lipid Res.9(2)215-225(1968) 3.Saville, J.T., Smith, N.J.C., Fletcher, J.M., et al.Quantification of plasma sulfatides by mass spectrometry: Utility for metachromatic leukodystrophyAnal. Chim. Acta95579-85(2017) 4.Buschard, K., HØy, M., Bokvist, K., et al.Sulfatide controls insulin secretion by modulation of ATP-sensitive K+-channel activity and Ca2+-dependent exocytosis in rat pancreatic β-cellsDiabetes51(8)2514-2521(2002) 5.Jeon, S.-B., Yoon, H.J., Park, S.-H., et al.Sulfatide, a major lipid component of myelin sheath, activates inflammatory responses as an endogenous stimulator in brain-resident immune cellsJ. Immunol.181(11)8077-8087(2008) 6.Zajonc, D.M., Maricic, I., Wu, D., et al.Structural basis for CD1d presentation of a sulfatide derived from myelin and its implications for autoimmunityJ. Exp. Med.202(11)1517-1526(2005)