Abstract
Abstract The lipid composition of highly purified synaptosomal plasma membranes has been analyzed. The membranes contained cholesterol (0.158 mg per mg protein), phospholipids (0.714 mg per mg protein) and gangliosides (0.125 mg per mg protein) as major constituents while cerebrosides and sulphatides were present in only trace amounts. Analysis of the gangliosides by thin-layer chromatography showed that there was no selective enrichment of any individual type in the plasma membranes in relation to total brain. The major phospholipids were ethanolamine (34.2%), choline (41.6%) and serine (13.2%) phosphoglycerides. Inositol monophosphoglyceride (3.5%), sphingomyelin (5.1%) and lysolecithin (1.0%) were relatively minor components while phosphatidylglycerol was not present. Each phospholipid class showed a specific fatty acid composition which differed from that of the other phospholipids. This result extends the specific fatty acid compositions observed in grey matter and certain sub-fractions by other workers. In particular, choline phosphoglycerides contained high levels of saturated fatty acids while large quantities of docosahexaenoic acid were present in ethanolamine and serine phosphoglycerides.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
