Application Notes:
Sulfatide is a type of sulfolipid that is found primarily in the central nervous system and is a myelin-specific
sphingolipid. A deficiency of sulfatide in white and gray matter has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types
of dementia. Apoliprotein E plays an important regulating role in the metabolism of sulfatides.1 A production of anti-sulfatide
antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid, leading to a deficiency in sulfatides, may be a cause of degeneration of the myelin
sheath, leading to multiple sclerosis.2 Metachromatic leukodystrophy is an inherited disorder characterized by a deficiency of
the lysosomal enzyme arylsulfatase A and the subsequent accumulation of sulfatide in neural and visceral tissues.3 An
immunomodulatory role for sulfatides has been suggested in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Sulfatides decrease the in vitro
production of proinflammatory cytokines.
Tetracosenoyl sulfatide has been found to be a major immunodominant specie in myelin. This has important
implications for the design of therapeutics that target T cells reactive for myelin glycolipids in autoimmune diseases of the
central nervous system.4 Tetracosenoyl sulfatide has also been demonstrated to reverse ongoing chronic and relapsing
experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice.5
References:
1. H. Cheng, Y. Zhou, D. M. Holtzman, X. Han “Apolipoprotein E mediates sulfatide depletion in animal models of Alzheimer's disease.” Neurobiology of
Aging August 2008
2. Ramesh C. Halder, A. Jahng, I. Maricic and Vipin Kumar “Mini Review: Immune Response to Myelin-Derived Sulfatide and CNS-Demyelination”
Neurochemical Research, February, Vol. 32(2): 257, 2007
3. Phillip D. Whitfield, Peter C. Sharp, David W. Johnson, Paul Nelson and Peter J. Meikle “Characterization of Urinary Sulfatides in Metachromatic
Leukodystrophy Using Electrospray Ionization-Tandem Mass Spectrometry” Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, May Vol. 73(1): 30, 2001
4. D. Zajonc et al. “Structural basis for CD1d presentation of a sulfatide derived from myelin and its implications for autoimmunity” The Journal of
Experimental Medicine, Vol. 202(11) pp. 1517, 2005
5. I. Maricic et al. “Dendritic Cells and Anergic Type I NKT Cells Play a Crucial Role in Sulfatide-Mediated Immune Regulation in Experimental
Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis” The Journal of Immunology, 2014 doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1302898