Sphingolipid activator proteins (SAPs), GM2 activator protein (GM2AP) and saposins (Saps) A–D are small, enzymatically inactive glycoproteins of the lysosome. Despite of their sequence homology, these lipid-binding and -transfer proteins show different specificities and varying modes of action. Water-soluble SAPs facilitate the degradation of membrane-bound glyco-sphingolipids with short oligosaccharide chains by exohydrolases at the membrane–water interface.