Effects of postdecapitative ischemia and hypoxia on the phosphoglyceride acyl groups of rat brain membranes

Rats subjected to mild hypoxic and postdecapitative ischemic treatments indicated a decrease (8–16%) in the proportion of polyunsaturated acyl groups of diacyl glycerophosphocholines (diacyl-GPC), diacyl glycerophosphoethanolamines (diacyl-GPE), and alkenylacyl glycerophosphoethanolamines (alkenylacyl-GPE) in brain synaptosomes. In general, the acyl group changes due to mild hypoxic treatment were less obvious than those due to the ischemic treatment. The decrease in polyunsaturated acyl groups was marked by an increase in the saturated (16:0 and 18:0) and monoenoic (18:1) acyl groups. Among the polyunsaturated acyl groups, arachidonate (20:4) indicated the greatest decrease in response to ischemic and hypoxic treatments. The decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids of diacyl glycerophosphocholines was largest in the first minute of ischemic treatment and the first 30 min of hypoxic treatment. After the initial decrease, there was a slight recovery. The biphasic type of change was thought to be due to active reacylation of the lyso phospholipids. This biphasic change, however, was not observed with ethanolamine phosphoglycerides which indicated a steady decrease in the polyunsaturated acyl group content with time of ischemic treatment. The increased hydrolysis of polyunsaturated acyl groups in brain membrane phosphoglycerides due to the ischemic and hypoxic treatments seemed to correlate well with the implication of phospholipase A₂ involvement in eliciting the increase in free fatty acids during brain stimulation.