Concentrations of glycosyl ceramides in plasma and red cells in Fabry's disease, a glycolipid lipidosis.

Concentrations of four neutral glycosyl ceramides were determined in plasma and erythrocytes from nine hemizygous patients with Fabry's disease (a hereditary glycolipid lipidosis), from the sister of one of the patients, and from the heterozygous mother of another one. The concentration of a trihexosyl ceramide, galactosylgalactosylglucosyl ceramide, was elevated in plasma from the patients about threefold above the normal mean level, and the amount of this lipid was also increased in plasma from the two female relatives. The concentrations of glucosyl ceramide and lactosyl ceramide in plasma were slightly less than normal in the affected males, while globoside or a similar tetrahexosyl ceramide was slightly higher than normal.

Quantitative determination of the neutral glycosyl ceramides in human blood.

A method is described for the qualitative and quantitative estimation of four neutral glycosyl ceramides from human plasma and erythrocytes. Total lipids extracted from 50 ml of plasma or packed erythrocytes were separated by silicic acid chromatography into neutral lipids, a fraction of mixed glycolipids that was eluted with acetone-methanol 9:1, and phospholipids. After mild alkali-catalyzed methanolysis to remove contaminants from the crude fraction of glycolipids, individual glycosyl ceramides were isolated by preparative thin-layer chromatography.