| Abstract: | Sulphatides and cerebrosides from white matter of brains of patients with metachromatic leucodystrophy (MLD) have been isolated and compared in fatty acid composition to those glycolipids found in MLD kidney tissue. A marked difference in glycolipid composition was found between the brain and kidney tissues. The sulphatides accumulated in MLD kidney have the same fatty acid profile as those found in normal kidney tissue and are typical‘kidney sulphatides.’The neutral glycolipids of MLD kidney retain larger amounts of the longer chain acids than do the cerebrosides of MLD brain white matter and thus resemble more closely in fatty acid composition, glycolipids of normal tissue. Structurally, the sulfate group is located at the C-3 position of the galactose molecule in sulphatides from normal and MLD tissue. As in the brain white matter, the sulphatides which accumulate in the kidney tissue of patients with MLD are normal in structure and composition. |
