Stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA-3) is a
glycosphingolipid, specifically, an
oligosaccharide composed of five
carbohydrate units connected to a
sphingolipid. Sphingolipids were originally discovered in 1884 by
Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum
Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum, also known as John Louis William Thudichum (August 27, 1829, Büdingen – September 7, 1901) was a German-born physician and biochemist.
From 1847 he studied medicine at the University of Giessen, where he ...
who named them after the
Sphinx of
Greek mythology in reference to the unresolved riddle of their function.
It is now known that sphingolipids function as key players in cell signaling
and the SSEA-3 molecule as a whole plays a key role in identifying many types of
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
ian cells with
pluripotent and
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
-like characteristics.
References
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Glycolipids