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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Jul 19.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1316:1–24. doi: 10.1007/978-981-33-6785-2_1

Table 1.

The major biological functions of lipid classes [5]

Cellular Functions Lipid Classes
Membrane structure construction Glycerophospholipids (e.g., PC, PE, PI, PS, PG, PA, etc.), sphingolipids (e.g., sphingomyelin, cardiolipin, cerebroside, sulfatide, gangliosides, etc.), glycolipids, sterol lipids (e.g., cholesterol, etc.)
Energy storage and metabolism Glycerolipids (e.g., NEFA, TAG, diacylglycerol, monoacylglycerol, acyl CoA, acylcarnitine, etc.)
Signal transduction Glycerolipids (e.g. diacylglycerol, monoacylglycerol, acyl CoA, acylcarnitine, NEFA, oxidized fatty acid), sphingolipids (e.g., Cer, sphingosine, sphingosine-1-phosphate), psychosine, N-acylethanolamine, Lyso-lipids, etc.
Other functions Plasmalogen, acylcarnitine, cardiolipin, PS, etc.