Synthesis Of Ethanolamine Plasmalogens Research Articles

Oligodendrocyte-substratum adhesion activates the synthesis of specific lipid species involved in cell signaling.

Ovine oligodendrocytes (OLGs) undergo biochemical and morphological changes following attachment to polylysine. Autoradiographs of two-dimensional thin-layer chromatograms of [14C]Gal-labeled OLG cultures revealed that attachment of OLGs to a polylysine substratum and their subsequent morphological differentiation is accompanied by an increased synthesis of multiple forms of galactosylceramide, sulfogalactosylceramide, and both sulfogalactosyl- and galactosyl-diglycerides, together with an array of complex sialoglycosphingolipids, predominantly GM2 ganglioside. As previously reported, overall lipid synthesis measured by [14C]acetate incorporation into glycerophosphatides, sphingomyelin, and neutral lipids also increased dramatically for up to 60 days (last time point examined) following OLG-substratum adhesion, reflecting membrane growth. Attachment was associated with a rapid augmentation in the synthesis of ethanolamine plasmalogen from 12 to 27% within 24 hr to reach a 35% plateau at 30 days and remain constant thereafter. In contrast, the plasmalogen content of phosphatidylcholine remained constant at 3-5%. This rapid increase in lipid synthesis (especially in the ethanolamine plasmalogen content following attachment) closely paralleled increased diacylglycerol (DAG) production and protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of both myelin basic protein and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphohydrolase. Labeling studies indicated that the major source of [3H]arachidonate-labeled DAG following attachment was from phosphatidylinositol turnover (and to a lesser extent phosphatidylcholine) rather than polyphosphoinositides or plasmalogens. Enhanced lipid synthesis is not only required for the production of membranes in these myelin-producing cells but is also a source of second messengers required in the posttranslational modification of key myelin and cellular proteins.

Synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine and ethanolamine plasmalogen by the CDP-ethanolamine and decarboxylase pathways in rat heart, kidney and liver

Studies with mammalian cell lines have led to suggestions that mammalian tissues may derive all of their phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) from the decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine (PS), and also that the physiological significance of the CDP-ethanolamine pathway was the synthesis of ethanolamine plasmalogen. We have therefore investigated the biosynthesis of PE and ethanolamine plasmalogen via the CDP-ethanolamine and decarboxylation pathways in vivo in three rat tissues (heart, kidney and liver), which differ in ethanolamine plasmalogen content. In all three tissues [14C]ethanolamine was incorporated into both PE and ethanolamine plasmalogen, whereas [3H]serine was incorporated into only PS and PE fractions. When [14C]ethanolamine was introduced into the animals, the specific radioactivity of ethanolamine plasmalogen in the kidney was always greater than that of the PE fraction; in the heart the specific radioactivity of the ethanolamine plasmalogen fraction was similar to that of the PE fraction, whereas in the liver the specific radioactivity of the PE fraction was always greater than that of the ethanolamine plasmalogen fraction. The results obtained in this study indicate that: (1) the CDP-ethanolamine pathway is utilized for the synthesis of both PE and ethanolamine plasmalogen in all three tissues; (2) the decarboxylation pathway is utilized solely for the synthesis of PE; (3) serine plasmalogens are not formed by base-exchange reactions; (4) the relative utilization of the CDP-ethanolamine pathway for the synthesis of PE and ethanolamine plasmalogen varies among tissues. Our studies also revealed that the hypolipidaemic drug MDL 29350 is a potent inhibitor of PE N-methyltransferase activity in vitro and in vivo.

Isolation of somatic cell mutants defective in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine.

An in situ autoradiographic assay for CDP-ethanolamine:1,2-sn-diacylglycerol ethanolamine phosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.1) activity in Chinese hamster ovary cells was developed and used to screen approximately 10,000 individual mutagen-treated colonies attached to filter paper (Esko, J. D., and Raetz, C. R. H. (1978) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 75, 1190-1193). A variant (strain 40.11) was isolated in which the ethanolamine phosphotransferase specific activity in vitro was 6-10-fold less than in the parent, but the level of CDP-choline:1,2-sn-diacylglycerol choline phosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) activity was normal. In extracts, the mutant was also defective in the synthesis of ethanolamine plasmalogen. In vivo, the short term kinetics of labeling with [32P]phosphate or [14C]ethanolamine was correspondingly altered. However, the long tem growth rate and steady state phospholipid compositions of the mutant and parent were quite similar. These results show that the ethanolamine and choline phosphotransferases of Chinese hamster ovary cells are distinct as judged by genetic criteria, while the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine and its plasmalogen share common enzymatic component(s).