The following groups of glycolipids are reviewed:
(1) The toxic cord factors (6,6'-diesters of trehalose), (2) Wax D, a macromolecular peptidoglycolipid having adjuvant activity, (3) The mycosides A, B and C, which are deoxyhexose containing "type-specific" glycolipids of mycobacterial origin, (4) The phosphatidyl myo-inositol mannosides, (5) Carotenol-glycosides.
Wherever possible, chemical structure, biosynthesis and biological activities are considered.
In a review on the same subject published in 1961 i) we have distinguished two categories of glycolipids of acid fast bacteria: (1) esters of carbohydrates;
(2) glycosides.
In the first category we find esters of trehalose, in particular the so-called "cord factor" and wax D which contains mycolic acids esterified to a complex polysaccharide. In the second category we find the mycosides with their characteristic deoxyhexoses, the phosphoinositides, containing D-mannose and the recently discovered carotenol glucosides. The carbohydrates found in these glycolipids are listed in table 1. As concerns the lipid moiety, various categories of fatty acids are found in these glycolipids: (a) normal, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the mycosides A and B and in the phosphoinositolipids; * This review is dedicated to Professor F. Wessely (University of Vienna) at the occasion of his 70th birthday. I