Assembly of the endoplasmic reticulum phospholipid bilayer. Transporters for phosphatidylcholine and metabolites

Phosphatidylcholine is synthesized on the cytoplasmic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum and transported to the lumenal monolayer by a protein transporter, a phosphatidylcholine "flippase" (Bishop, W. R., and Bell, R. M. (1985) Cell 42, 51-60). Since the endoplasmic reticulum contains enzymes involved in phosphatidylcholine turnover that have different locations within the organelle, transport systems may exist for phosphatidylcholine metabolites. To test the hypothesis that rat liver microsomes contain a lysophosphatidylcholine transporter, sn-1-monobutyroylphosphatidylcholine was employed. Since this homolog is highly water-soluble, transport of lysophosphatidylcholine could be measured using standard transport methods. sn-1-Monobutyroylphosphatidylcholine entered the lumenal compartment of microsomal vesicles. Transport was saturable and dependent on time and on amount of microsomes and required an intact permeability barrier. sn-1-Monobutyroylphosphatidylcholine transport was inhibited by treatment of microsomes with trypsin, N-ethylmaleimide, and trinitrobenzene-sulfonic acid. These findings suggest that sn-1-monobutyroylphosphatidylcholine transport is protein-mediated. sn-1-Monobutyroylphosphatidylcholine transported into microsomes was degraded to glycerophosphorylcholine. Glycerophosphorylcholine was also transported across the microsomal membrane. Glycerophosphorylcholine transport was also saturable and dependent on time, amount of microsomes, and an intact permeability barrier but was not inhibited by treatment with trypsin or the two protein modification agents. Thus, separate and distinct transport systems exist for phosphatidylcholine metabolites. Molecular events of phosphatidylcholine turnover in the endoplasmic reticulum are discussed.