Fundamental Neurochemistry Review: Sphingolipids and Ceramides in Brain Development

Lipids are emerging as key players in regulating neural stem cells and their progeny. Recent lipidomic profiling studies clearly illustrate the significance of lipids across cerebral cortical development and evolution. In this review, we identify the existing knowledge concerning the importance of lipids in cortex development and neurogenesis processes, with a special emphasis on ceramide-based sphingolipids. We then discuss the lipidation of factors that are relevant for cortex development and how their interaction with ceramides facilitates certain intracellular processes. We further summarize the importance of ceramides in different intracellular compartments and organelles, and finally discuss the alterations of sphingolipid metabolism in neurological disorders, particularly of neurodevelopmental origin.