Metabolism of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in the human neutrophil

The biosynthesis of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC) together with that of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC (platelet-activating factor) has been demonstrated in a variety of inflammatory cells and tissues. It has been hypothesized that the relative proportion of these phospholipids produced upon cell activation may be influenced by their rates of catabolism. We studied the catabolism of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC in resting and activated human neutrophils and compared it to that of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC. Neutrophils rapidly catabolize both 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC and 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC; however, the rate of catabolism of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC is approximately 2-fold higher than that of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC. In addition, most of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC is catabolized through a pathway different from that of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-GPC. The main step in the catabolism of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC is the removal of the long chain at the sn-1 position; the long chain residue is subsequently incorporated either into triglycerides or into phosphatidylcholine. The 1-lyso-2-acetyl-GPC formed in this reaction is then further degraded to glycerophosphocholine, choline, or phosphocholine. 1-Acyl-2-acetyl-GPC is also catabolized, to a lesser extent, through deacetylation at the sn-2 position and reacylation with a long chain fatty acid. Stimulation of neutrophils by A23187 results in a higher rate of catabolism of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC by increasing both the removal of the long chain at the sn-1 position and the deacetylation-reacylation at the sn-2 position. In a broken cell preparation, the cytosolic fraction of the neutrophil was shown to contain an enzyme activity which cleaved the sn-1 position of 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC and 1-acyl-2-lyso-GPC but not of 1,2-diacyl-GPC. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the human neutrophil is able to catabolize 1-acyl-2-acetyl-GPC in a manner both quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of platelet-activating factor. The differential catabolism may regulate the relative proportion of these two bioactive phospholipids in the neutrophil.