Regional distribution of ethanolamine plasmalogen in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions and cerebral cortex of the gerbil

Abstract

Although ethanolamine plasmalogens (EtnPm) are the predominant phospholipids in neural tissue, their physiological role has not been clarified. The biophysical conformation of EtnPm in the proteoliposome enhances the activity of the sodium–calcium exchanger, which has been proposed to induce intracellular calcium ion accumulation during ischemia and early reperfusion. The levels of EtnPm in the areas of the gerbil brain selectively vulnerable to ischemia, namely the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions and the cerebral cortex, were measured by high-performance thin-layer chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography. The concentration of EtnPm in the CA1 region, which is the most vulnerable to ischemic and anoxic stress, was 2.6- and 2.7-fold higher than that in the CA3 region and cerebral cortex, respectively. The significantly higher concentration of EtnPm in the hippocampal CA1 region may enhance sodium–calcium exchanger activity and play an important role in the vulnerability of this region to ischemia.