“…[11] Despite this difference between the natural and artificial membrane systems,a rtificial coexisting l o /l d membranes have been frequently used to analyze the partitioning of receptor lipids and proteins, [12] such as bacterial toxins,i nt he different phases. [13] Bacterial toxins are known to bind to specific glycosphingolipids embedded in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane.Cholera toxin (CTx) produced by Vibrio cholerae and Shiga toxin (STx) produced by Shigella dysenteriae and by enterohemorrhagic strains of Escherichia coli,both belonging to the class of AB 5 toxins, [14] bind specifically to monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (G M1 ) [15] and globotriaosyl ceramide (Gb 3 ), [16,17] respectively.W hile the head groups of the glycosphingolipids indeed define the specificity of protein binding,not much attention has been drawn to the variability of the ceramide backbone harboring different fatty acids.I n various cell types (human colon Caco-2, HCT-8 epithelial cells,h uman endothelial cell lines,p rimary human umbilical vein endothelial cells,primary human endothelial cells of the brain and the kidney, [18] and references therein), aconserved repertoire of Gb 3 species was found carrying saturated C 16:0 , C 22:0 ,orC 24:0 fatty acids as well as the unsaturated C 24:1 fatty acid. Results of Lingwood and co-workers [19] suggest that the pathogenic outcome of Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) infections is related to the different Gb 3 species.T og ather more molecular information, artificial membranes doped with Gb 3 were employed.…”