A Comparative Study of the Lipids of the Vertebrate Central Nervous System

Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that the distribution of lipids in the brains of a number of different mammalian species is very similar (Johnson, McNabb & Rossiter, 1948). Evidence was presented for the view that free cholesterol and the two sphingosine-containing lipids,* cerebroside and sphingomyelin, are the principal lipids of the myelin sheath of a mammalian nerve fibre (Johnson, McNabb & Rossiter 1949a, b, 1950; Burt, McNabb & Rossiter, 1950). These lipids were called the myelin lipids. However, McColl & Rossiter (1950, 1951) showed that the lipids of the nervous system of certain invertebrates, notably Loligo, Limulus and Libinia, differed in a number of respects from those of the mammal. In this paper, data are presented for the lipids of the brains of a series of vertebrates, including representatives of the cartilaginous and bony fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.