Ceramide !

Ceramide is the core of every sphingolipid: sphingosine joined to a fatty acid. It also acts as a stress and cell-death signal.

Updated 2026-11-01

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Key facts

Sphingosine (an 18-carbon amino alcohol) + a fatty acid in an amide bond.
It is made in the endoplasmic reticulum from serine + palmitoyl-CoA.
It is the end point of lysosomal breakdown of all sphingolipids and the starting point of their synthesis.
In skin, ceramides seal the stratum corneum and prevent water loss.

The 3D model (PDB 16C) is C16 ceramide: sphingosine with a palmitate on the nitrogen.
It has two hydrophobic tails and a small head with two OH groups; no phosphate and no sugar.

Acid ceramidase breaks it down to sphingosine; its deficiency causes Farber disease (subcutaneous nodules, arthritis, hoarseness).
Excess ceramide favours apoptosis and insulin resistance in muscle and liver.

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

Which two parts make up a ceramide?

Sphingosine and a fatty acid joined by an amide bond.

What is added to ceramide to make sphingomyelin?

Phosphocholine, donated by phosphatidylcholine.

Which disease does acid ceramidase deficiency cause?

Farber disease: ceramide builds up in joints, skin and larynx.

Molecules are shown in their neutral form, as the databases deposit them; in the cell the acids and phosphates are ionised.

Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

Sources: N-Palmitoylsphingosine (CID 5353456) (PubChem, NCBI, 2026) · Public domain; RCSB PDB - 16C Ligand Summary Page (RCSB Protein Data Bank, 2026); Sphingolipid de novo biosynthesis (Reactome, 2026); Textbook of Biochemistry for Medical Students, 6th ed. (Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (Vasudevan DM, Sreekumari S, Vaidyanathan K), 2011).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.