The reverse reaction of cholinephosphotransferase in rat brain microsomes. A new pathway for degradation of phosphatidylcholine

The synthesis of phosphatidylcholine is catalyzed by cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) which is known to be reversible in liver. The reversibility of cholinephosphotransferase in rat brain in demonstrated in this paper. Labeled microsomes were prepared from young rats which had been given an intracerebral injection of labeled choline or oleate 2 h before killing. During incubation of choline-labeled microsomes with CMP, label was lost from ;choline glycerophospholipids and labeled CDPcholine was produced. The Km for CMP was 0.35 mM and V was 3.3 nmol/min per mg protein. Neither AMP nor UMP could substitute for CMP. Oleate-labeled microsomes were pretreated with e mM diisopropylfluorophosphate (lipase inhibitor). During incubation with CMP, label was lost from choline, and ethanolamine glycerophospholipid and labeled diacylglycerols were produced. When the lipase was not inhibited, labeled oleate was produced. We propose that a principal pathway for degradation of phosphatidylcholine, particularly during brain ischemia, is by reversal of cholinephosphotransferase, followed by hydrolysis of diacylglycerols by the lipase.     

Utilization of disaturated and unsaturated phosphatidylcholine and diacylglycerols by cholinephosphotransferase in rat lung microsomes

1. Cholinephosphosphotransferase catalyzes the conversion of diacylglycerol and CDPcholine into phosphatidylcholine and CMP. Incubation of rat lung microsomes containing phosphatidyl[Me-14C]choline with CMP resulted in an increase in water-soluble radioactivity, suggesting that also in rat lung microsomes the cholinephosphotransferase reaction is reversible. 2. Microsomes containing 14C-labeled disaturated and 3H-labeled monoenoic phosphatidylcholine were prepared by incubation of these organelles with [1-14C]palmitate and [9,10-3H2]oleate in the presence of 1-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, ATP, coenzyme A and MgCl2. Incubation of these microsomes with CMP resulted in an equal formation of 14C- and 3H-labeled diacylglycerols, indicating that disaturated and monoenoic phosphatidylcholines were used without preference by the backward reaction of the cholinephosphotransferase. When in a similar experiment the phosphatidylcholine was labeled with [9,10-3H2]palmitate and [1-14C]linoleate, somewhat more 14C- than 3H-labeled diacylglycerol was formed. 3. The backward reaction was used to generate membrane-bound mixtures of [1-14C]palmitate- and [9,10-3H2]oleate- or of [9,10-3H2]palmitate- and [1-14C]linoleate-labeled diacylglycerols. When the microsomes containing diacylglycerols were incubated with CDPcholine, both 3H- and 14C-labeled diacylglycerols were used for the formation of phosphatidylcholine, indicating that there is no absolute discrimination against disaturated diacylglycerols. This observation is in line with our previous findings and indicates that also the CDPcholine pathway may contribute to dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine synthesis in lung.     

Selective utilization of endogenous unsaturated phosphatidylcholines and diacylglycerols by cholinephosphotransferase of mouse lung microsomes.

In the presence of CMP, cholinephosphotransferase of mouse lung microsomes catalyzes the conversion of endogenous phosphatidylcholines into 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols and CDPcholine. 2. In this conversion cholinephosphotransferase shows a distinct preference for those molecular species of phosphatidylcholine which contain an unsaturated fatty acid. The enzyme hardly utilizes endogenous depalmitoylglycerophosphocholine as a substrate. 3. Membrane-bound 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols were also prepared by treatment of mouse lung microsomes with a pure phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus. These 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols were subsequently utilized as substrate by cholinephosphotransferase in the formation of phosphatidylcholine. In the latter reaction, cholinephosphotransferase exhibited a pronounced preference for unsaturated 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols and hardly utilized the endogenous 1,2-depalmitoyl-sn-glycerol. 4. The low affinity of cholinephosphotransferase for either dipalmitoylglycerophosphocholine or 1,2-dip     

Cholinephosphotransferase in rat lung. In vitro formation of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and general lack of selectivity using endogenously generated diacylglycerol

Diacylglycerol was generated in vitro in rat lung microsomes by forming phosphatidic acid via sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase followed by the hydrolysis of the phosphatidic acid by phosphatidate phosphohydrolase. Diacylglycerol concentrations of 35 to 50 nmol/mg of microsomal protein were obtained. Cholinephosphotransferase activity was determined in microsomes by measuring the conversion of endogenously generated [14C]diacylglycerol to phosphatidylcholine. Reaction rates of 14 to 16 nmol/min/mg of protein were obtained with a 30-s reaction. Diacylglycerol which was primarily dipalmitoylglycerol was produced when palmitic acid was used in the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase reactions. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine was formed via cholinephosphotransferase from the dipalmitoylglycerol with an apparent maximal velocity of 20 nmol/min/mg of protein. When oleic acid was used instead of palmitic acid, the apparent maximal velocity for cholinephosphotransferase was 26 nmol/min/mg of protein. The apparent Km values for the two different diacylglycerol substrates were the same (28.5 nmol/mg of protein). Diacylglycerols, with different molecular species composition, were generated using a variety of fatty acids and fatty acid mixtures. The phosphatidylcholine formed from these diacylglycerols had the same molecular species profiles as the diacylglycerol used as the substrate. The relative reaction rates with the different diacylglycerols were essentially the same except when 20:4 and 22:6 fatty acids were used individually, in which case the rates were lower. We conclude that cholinephosphotransferase readily forms dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine from endogenously generated dipalmitoylglycerol and that the cholinephosphotransferase reaction is generally nonselective for the diacylglycerol substrate.     

The effect of fatty acid exposure on the biosynthesis of glycerolipids by cultured hepatocytes

Incubation of hepatocyte monolayers with oleate or palmitate (1.0 mM) for 2-48 h, increased (20 to 80%) the incorporation of [1,3-14C]glycerol and palmitate into triacyglycerol but not phosphatidylcholine. The effect of fatty acids on liver cell triacylglycerol formation correlated well (r = 0.990) with a simultaneous rise (2-4-fold) in phosphatidate phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.4) activity. Phosphatidate phosphatase activity and triacylglycerol biosynthesis are also increased (2-fold) after hepatocyte monolayers are incubated for 24 h with cyclic GMP in the absence of fatty acids. Fatty acid-dependent increases in liver cell triacylglycerol formation and phosphatidate phosphatase activity are not blocked by cycloheximide. Phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis was also elevated in homogenates of liver cells exposed (24-48 h) to 1.0 mM oleate when exogenous CDPcholine was added to the incubation mixture. Apparently, the phosphatidate phosphatase-dependent rise in diacylglycerols that occurs after fatty acid exposure is primarily shunted into triacylglycerols because liver cell CDPcholine content is not correspondingly increased, and high levels of diacylglycerol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.20) and fatty acyl-CoA derivatives are present.     

Regulation of selectivity of CDPcholine: 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol cholinephosphotransferase in rat liver microsomes towards different molecular species of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols.

The suitability of monoenoic, dienoic, tetraenoic, and hexaenoic molecular species of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols as substrates for the CDPcholine: 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) was studied in rat liver microsomes. No statistically significant difference in the rates of phosphatidylcholine synthesis with the various diacylglycerols was found at 0.40 mM, although a moderate discrimination against hexaenoic species relative to monoenoic and dienoic species was observed at 0.25 mM. The addition of palmitoyl-CoA (7.5 micron) significantly enhanced cholinephosphotransferase activity when tetraenoic diacylglycerols were added at 0.25 or 0.40 mM. CDPethanolamine at 24.4 micron was found to inhibit the rates of phophatidylcholine biosynthesis by 54 and 39% with hexaenoic and monoenoic 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols, respectively, whereas no significant effects were observed in the case of dienoic and tetraenoic species. These latter findings may partially explain why 1-saturated 2-docosahexaenoyl diacylglycerols are used to a greater extent for phosphatidylethanolamine than for phosphatidylcholine synthesis in rat liver in vivo. The present results also suggest that the selectivity of the cholinephosphotransferase for certain molecular species of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols is a function of diacylglycerol concentration and may be mediated under physiological conditions by substrates for enzymes which compete for common diacylglycerol precursors.     

A comparison of the reversibility of phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase in rat brain microsomes

The reversibility of phosphoethanolamine transferase (EC 2.7.8.1) in rat brain is demonstrated in this paper. Microsomal ethanolamine glycerophospholipids were prelabeled with an intracerebral injection of [3H]ethanolamine 4 h before killing young rats. Labeled CDPethanolamine was produced by incubation of the microsomes with CMP, although to a lesser extent than for the previously observed release of CDPcholine. Ethanolamine and choline glycerophospholipids were labeled with [2-3H]glycerol by incubation with primary cultures of rat brain. Microsomes from rat brains, with diisopropyl phosphofluoridate for inhibition of lipases, were incubated with the labeled glycerophospholipids separately, and labeled diacylglycerols were produced. The kinetic parameters of phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase (EC 2.7.8.2) were compared by incubating rat brain microsomes with [3H]CMP. Inclusion of AMP in the reaction mixture was necessary in order to inhibit the hydrolysis of CMP by an enzyme with the properties of 5'-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5). For phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase respectively, the Km values for CMP were 40 and 125 microM and the V values were 2.3 and 21.6 nmol/h per mg protein. The reversibility of both enzymes permits the interconversion of the diacylglycerol moieties of choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. During brain ischemia, a principal pathway for degradation of ethanolamine glycerophospholipids may be by reversal of phosphoethanolamine transferase followed by hydrolysis of diacylglycerols by the lipase.     

Effects of free fatty acids on the enzymic synthesis of diacyl and ether types of choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides.

Activities of ethanolaminephosphotransferases (EC 2.7.8.1) and choline phosphotransferases (EC 2.7.8.2) in microsomal fractions from brains and livers of mature rats are increased several fold by the addition of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols or 1-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-clycerols. Oleic acid added with diacylglycerols stimulated further the synthesis of lecithins by liver microsomes, confirming the work of Sribney and Lyman (Can J. Biochem. 51: 1479-1486, 1973). With alkylacylglycerols, oleic and stearic acids were inhibitory and linoleic acid was even more inhibitory for the synthesis of both 1-alkyl-1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholines and the corresponding ethanolamine compounds with microsomes from both tissues. Free fatty acids without added diglycerides had mixed effects. These results are best explained by postulating the presence of two isoenzymes each for ethanolaminephosphotransferase and cholinephosphotransferase of which only one is affected by free fatty acids. Regulation of the phosphotransferases by free fatty acids may determine the proportion of CDP-choline and CDP-ethanolamine used for synthesis of diacyl and alkylacyl types of these phosphoglycerides.     

Free fatty acid release from endothelial cells

Cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells that have been previously enriched with fatty acid are able to release free fatty acid (FFA) into the extracellular fluid. No stimulus other than the presence of albumin in the medium is needed to elicit the FFA release. Intracellular triglycerides appear to be the source of most of the FFA that is released. The released FFA is composed of a mixture of fatty acids, with the fatty acid used to enrich the cells contributing about half of the total. Under certain conditions sufficient fatty acid can be released to increase the FFA concentration of the extracellular fluid. Cells enriched initially with arachidonic acid released 1.7- to 2.9-times more FFA as compared to cells enriched with corresponding amounts of oleic acid. Neither prostaglandins nor lipoxygenase products contributed appreciably to the amount of FFA released from cells enriched with arachidonic acid. Porcine pulmonary artery endothelial cells also can release net amounts of FFA. These findings indicate that endothelial cells have the capacity to release fatty acid in the form of FFA. This process could possibly play a role in the transfer of fatty acids, particularly arachidonic acid, across the endothelium.     

The molecular species of phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine synthesized from sn-glycerol 3-phosphate in rat lung microsomes

The species pattern of phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine synthesized from [14C]glycerol 3-phosphate was measured using a newly developed HPLC technique yielding 13 molecular species. A direct comparison of these species patterns presupposes determination of the lipolytic activity of lung microsomes. The lipolytic activity was quantitatively determined by measuring the changes of the endogenous concentration of diacylglycerol, triacylglycerol and free fatty acids. The species pattern of endogenous diacylglycerol measured in the time-course of lipolysis did not show any changes up to an incubation period of 20 min, suggesting that the lipolytic activity showed only a very low selectivity for individual substrate species. Diisopropylfluorophosphate (5 mumol/mg microsomal protein) strongly decreased the lipolytic activities as well as the microsomal phosphatidate phosphohydrolase activity, as measured by means of exogenous phosphatidic acid, and also the generation of phosphatidic acid from [14C]glycerol 3-phosphate. In lung microsomes, labeled phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerols were synthesized from the endogenous free fatty acids and sn-[14C]glycerol 3-phosphate, which had previously been added. By addition of CDPcholine to the prelabeled microsomes the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine was measured. After hydrolysis of phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylcholine with cytoplasmatic phosphatidate phosphohydrolase or phospholipase C, respectively, the de novo synthesized species patterns of these two lipids and of the diacylglycerol were determined. Comparison of the species pattern of de novo synthesized phosphatidic acid with that of diacylglycerol largely showed the same distribution of radioactivity among the individual species, except that the relative proportion of label was higher in the 16:0/16:0 and 16:0/18:0 species of phosphatidic acid and lower in the 16:0/20:4 and 18:0/20:4 species than in the corresponding species of diacylglycerol. The species pattern of de novo-synthesized diacylglycerol showed no differences from that of the phosphatidylcholine synthesized from it. From this result we concluded that the cholinephosphotransferase of lung microsomes is nonselective for individual species of the diacylglycerol substrate. The 16:0/18:1 and 16:0/18:2 species of phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine showed a higher synthesis rate than their 18:0 counterparts, whereas the 16:0 or 18:0 analogues of species containing 20:4 and 22:6 fatty acids showed nearly the same synthesis rates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Effects of CDPcholine and CDPethanolamine on the Alterations in Rat Brain Lipid Metabolism Induced by Global Ischemia

Abstract: The fast turnover pool of rat brain lipids was labeled by intracerebral injection of [³H]acetate. Cerebral ischemia for a duration of 5 min after decapitation caused a 2.2-fold increase in radioactivity in the free fatty acids and loss of more than 20% of the radioactivity from choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. An intracerebral injection of 0.6 μmol each of cytidine diphosphocholine (CDPcholine) and cytidine diphosphoethanolamine (CDPethanolamine) prevented the loss of radioactivity from the glycerophospholipids and decreased the amount of radioactivity in the free fatty acids by 59% as compared with control values and 82% as compared with ischemia values. By GLC assays of the mass of the free fatty acids, there was a threefold increase of free fatty acids in ischemic brains. Pretreatment of ischemic brains with CDPcholine and CDPethanolamine reduced the levels of unesterified fatty acids to 60% of the control values. Thus, a prior injection of cytidine nucleotides prevented the release of free fatty acids observed in ischemic brains.     

Esterification of exogenous and endogenous fatty acids by rat adipocytes in vitro.

Rat adipocytes were used in vivo to compare the esterification of exogenous fatty acids and fatty acids formed de novo from glucose or acetate. Pure single fatty acids added to the medium were esterified at comparable rates but marked differences were observed when the same acids were supplied as components of a fatty acid mixture of a composition similar to that in the tissue. Fatty acids synthesised de novo from acetate by adipocytes in a medium containing high concentrations of acetate were located predominantly in diacylglycerols. The effect was most marked with adipocytes from older rats and was enhanced by the presence of exogenous long-chain fatty acids. Exogenous oleic acid was esterified predominantly into triacylglycerols at all concentrations of acetate. No such accumulation of endogenously-synthesised fatty acids in diacylglycerols occurred when glucose was the precursor for fatty acid synthesis. The diacylglycerols formed were almost entirely of the sn-1,2-configuration.     

Mitochondrial lipids in Bufo arenarum full-grown oocytes

Both the content and composition of polar and neutral lipids from the mitochondrial fraction of ovarian full-grown Bufo arenarum oocytes were analysed in the present study. Triacylglycerols (TAG) represent 33% of the total lipids, followed by phosphatidylcholine (PC), free fatty acids (FFA) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) or cardiolipin, a specific component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, represents about 4% of the total lipid content. Palmitic (16:0) and arachidonic (20:4n6) acids are the most abundant fatty acids in PC and PE, respectively. DPG is enriched in fatty acids with carbon chain lengths of 18, the principal component being linoleic acid. In phosphatidylinositol (PI), 20:4n6 and stearic acid (18:0) represent about 72 mol% of the total acyl group level. The main fatty acids in TAG are linoleic (18:2), oleic (18:1), and palmitic acids. The fatty acid composition of FFA and diacylglycerols (DAG) is similar, 16:0 being the most abundant acyl group. PE is the most unsaturated lipid and sphingomyelin (SM) has the lowest unsaturation index.     

Modulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis in vitro. Inhibition of diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase and lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase by centrophenoxine and neophenoxine

1,2-Diacyl-sn-glycerol : CDPcholine cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) and acyl-CoA : 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.23) activities of rat liver microsomes can be inhibited by centrophenoxine (N,N-dimethylaminoethyl p-chlorophenoxyacetate). This inhibition is brought about by the intact centrophenoxine molecule rather than by the products of hydrolysis. A nonhydrolyzable ether analog of centrophenoxine was synthesized (neophenoxine; N,N-dimethylaminoethyl p-chlorophenoxyethyl ether) and proved most effective in inhibiting the two routes of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. While 50% inhibition of the cholinephosphotransferase was attained at 5 mM neophenoxine, 50% inhibition of the acyltransferase required 0.6 mM neophenoxine levels only. Inhibition of the cholinephosphotransferase (Ki approximately 1.5 mM) and the acyltransferase (Ki approximately 1 mM) by neophenoxine was shown to be noncompetitive. Other membrane-bound enzymes, such as glucose-6-phosphatase, monoacylglycerol lipase, alkaline phosphatase or phospholipase A2 were not affected by the inhibitors. Because of this specificity, and because of the high affinity of the microsomal membrane for such agents, centrophenoxine and neophenoxine should prove useful for controlling phosphatidylcholine synthesis and for modulating the phosphatidylcholine deacylation-reacylation cycle.     

The CMP-stimulated production of diacylglycerol and CDPdiacylglycerol in neuronal nuclei labelled with radioactive arachidonate

A neuronal nuclear fraction (N1), isolated from immature rabbit cerebral cortex, was preincubated with [3H]arachidonate, ATP, CoA, Mg2+ and 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine or 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoinositol. Using the former lysophospholipid, a sizeable incorporation of radioactivity was seen in N1 phosphatidylcholine. In subsequent incubations in the presence of CMP and EGTA, there was a generation of radioactive diacylglycerol in N1 and a corresponding decline in phosphatidylcholine radioactivity. Both these changes could be blocked by the addition of CDPcholine. In incubations using N1 phosphatidylinositol or phosphatidylethanolamine prelabelled with [3H]arachidonate, no evidence was found to support a direct generation of diacylglycerol from these phospholipids. The back reaction of cholinephosphotransferase in N1 is likely the principal source of diacylglycerols bearing arachidonate. Using either lysophospholipid in the preincubations described in the opening sentence, more than half of the incorporated radioactivity derived from [3H]arachidonate was found in N1 phosphatidylinositol. In subsequent incubations with EGTA and CMP there was a production of radioactive CDPdiacylglycerol and a decline in radioactive phosphatidylinositol. Both events could be blocked by the presence of myo-inositol. Radioactive CDPdiacylglycerol, produced in N1 in the presence of CMP and EGTA, was converted back into phosphatidylinositol by the addition of myo-inositol. The production of CDPdiacylglycerol is likely the result of the back reaction of CDPdiacylglycerol:inositol phosphatidate transferase in N1.     

The incorporation of oleic and linoleic acids and their desaturation products into the glycerolipids of maize leaves

[1-¹⁴C]Oleic and [1-¹⁴C]linoleic acids were rapidly desaturated when incubated with maize leaves from 8-day-old plants and the labeled fatty acids, and their desaturation products, were rapidly incorporated into glycerolipids. Oleic acid was desaturated to linoleate at the rate of 0.7 nmol/100 mg tissue/h and further desaturated to linolenate at about one-third this rate. The rates of linolenate formation were similar when either oleic acid or linoleic acid was the substrate although there was a 2-h lag period when oleic acid was substrate. When radioactive oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were substrates, phosphatidylcholine was the most extensively labeled glycerolipid followed by monogalactosyldiacylglycerol. The relative rates of incorporation of label into individual glycerolipids are consistent with a movement of labeled fatty acids from phosphatidylcholine to monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and then to diagalactosyldiacylglycerol. The rates of labeling of phosphatidylcholine oleate and of phosphatidylcholine linoleate are consistent with a precursor-product relationship in that there was a delayed accumulation of phosphatidylcholine linoleate relative to that of phosphatidylcholine oleate and phosphatidylcholine linoleate continued to accumulate while phosphatidylcholine oleate declined. Linoleate formed from oleate was widely distributed in glycerolipids but neither phosphatidylcholine linolenate nor linolenate-containing diacylglycerol was detected at short and intermediate incubation times when either oleic or linoleic acid was substrate. The kinetics of incorporation of linoleate and linolenate into monogalactosyldiacylglycerol suggest a transfer of linoleate from phosphatidylcholine. The initial rate of accumulation of labeled linolenate in monogalactosyldiacylglycerol was very similar to the rate of desaturation of linoleate and it is suggested that desaturation of linoleate occurs while associated with monogalactosyl-diacylglycerol.     

Bactericidal effect of fatty acids on mycobacteria, with particular reference to the suggested mechanism of intracellular killing

The effect of fatty acids on Mycobacterium smegmatis was examined in vitro at pH 5.0 to 7.0 to determine the role of fatty acids in the intracellular killing of mycobacteria. Unsaturated fatty acids showed strong bactericidal activity in low concentrations (0.005 to 0.02 mM), whereas saturated fatty acids, except for lauric and myristic acids, were not very effective even at a concentration of 0.2 mM. Addition of a saturated fatty acid (palmitic or stearic acid) to an unsaturated fatty acid (oleic or linoleic acid) did not strongly interfere with the bactericidal effect of the unsaturated fatty acid at pH 5.0 and 6.0. Ca2+ (3.0 mM), Mg2+ (1.0 mM), and gamma-globulin (0.4%) showed weak reversal effects on the bactericidal activity of unsaturated fatty acids at pH 5.0 and 6.0. Serum albumin and serum showed strong reversal effects. The concentrations of each fatty acid in a mixture (molar ratio, 1:1:1:1) of oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and stearic acids required for the killing of M. smegmatis in the presence of 2% serum (bovine, rabbit, or human) were 0.05 to 0.10 mM at pH 5.0 and 6.0 and 0.05 to 0.20 mM at pH 7.0, depending on the serum used. The susceptibilities of M. kansasii, M. bovis strain BCG, and M. tuberculosis to the mixture of the four fatty acids in the presence of 2% bovine serum were similar to that of M. smegmatis, although M. fortuitum was more resistant.     

Effect of phosphatidylcholine on fatty acid and cholesterol absorption from mixed micellar solutions.

Using the experimental model of the everted sac prepared from rat jejuna, kinetic studies on [14C]oleic acid uptake from bile salt micelles were conducted in the presence and absence of phosphatidylcholine. The concentration of oleic acid was varied between 0.625 and 5 mM. At every level of fatty acid concentration studied the addition of 2 mM phosphatidylcholine produced a significant inhibition of fatty acid uptake. It was further noted that the intact phospholipid molecule was required for this effect as lysophosphatidylcholine produced little, if any, inhibition of [14C]oleic acid uptake. The effect of varying the concentration of phosphatidylcholine on fatty acid uptake was also studied. The degree of inhibition was noted to be correlated grossly with media concentrations of this phospholipid although the decrease of fatty acid uptake was not strictly proportional to concentration of this material in the medium. Studies were also performed analyzing in vitro absorption of [14C]oleic acid and [3H]cholesterol simultaneously from mixed micelles composed of sodium taurocholate, oleic acid, monoolein and cholesterol. Control medium contained no phospholipid while experimental medium contained either diester or diether phosphatidylcholine, 2 mM. Both types of phosphatidylcholine caused significant inhibition of fatty acid and cholesterol uptake. In vivo absorption studies were also performed using the isolated jejunal segment technique. A mixed micellar solution containing [3H]cholesterol and [14C]oleic acid was used as the test dose. Phospholipid in the test dose for controls was supplied as lysophosphatidylcholine and for experimentals it was in the form of diether phosphatidylcholine. Significantly less radioactively labeled cholesterol and fatty acid was absorbed by experimentals as compared to controls over a 10-min period. It is concluded that the intact molecule of phosphatidylcholine inhibits intestinal uptake of cholesterol and fatty acid from mixed micellar solutions under both in vitro and in vivo conditions.     

Diacylglycerol synthesized in vitro from sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and the endogenous diacylglycerol are different substrate pools for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine in rat lung microsomes

In microsomes of rat lung, labeled diacylglycerol was synthesized from sn-[3H]glycerol 3-phosphate, which had been added, and from the endogenous free fatty acids. In these microsomes containing biosynthesized [3H]diacylglycerol as well as endogenous nonlabeled diacylglycerol, the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine was measured from added [14C]CDPcholine. The incorporation of [methyl-14C]choline and of [3H]diacylglycerol into phosphatidylcholine showed an entirely different progress in the time-course of incubation. The 14C label of phosphatidylcholine increased continuously, whereas the 3H label remained constant after 2 min up to the end of the incubation period of 20 min. From this result we concluded that the diacylglycerols, synthesized in vitro from glycerol 3-phosphate over an incubation period of 20 min, constitute a separate substrate pool for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, and are not mixed with the endogenous diacylglycerol pool.     

A study of the molecular species of diacylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine and of cholinephosphotransferase and ethanolaminephosphotransferase activities in the type II pneumocyte

The percent distributions of the molecular species of diacylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in rat whole lung and type II pneumocytes were found to differ significantly. Diacylglycerol from the type II pneumocyte is enriched in the disaturated species and diminished in the polyenoic species compared to whole lung. Type II pneumocyte phosphatidylcholine is enriched in the disaturated species and diminished in all other species compared to whole lung. Relative to whole lung, type II pneumocyte phosphatidylethanolamine is greatly enriched in monoenoic and depleted in polyenoic fatty acid species. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of the molecular species in general indicated differences in relative amounts of fatty acids which were most pronounced in palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic and oleic acids, both within and between type II pneumocyte and whole lung glycerolipids. Significant differences between molecular species also existed within type II pneumocyte glycerolipids. In this cell type, phosphatidylcholine is enriched in disaturated and diminished in monoenoic species compared to diacylglycerol. Phosphatidylethanolamine is enriched in monoenoic and polyenoic species relative to diacylglycerol. In order to determine whether differences observed in type II pneumocyte glycerolipid molecular species were attributable to differences in the specificities of cholinephosphotransferase and ethanolaminephosphotransferase, the selectivity of these enzymes was examined. While cholinephosphotransferase showed diminished activity towards 1-stearoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-glycerol, neither enzyme showed selectivity towards other tested diacylglycerols under a variety of conditions. Therefore, while in the type II pneumocyte significant amounts of phosphatidylcholine (particularly the disaturated species) and phosphatidylethanolamine may be synthesized de novo, enzymes responsible for remodeling (phospholipase A2 and acyltransferases) may play an important role in establishing the final molecular species composition of both phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.