Biogenesis of endoplasmic reticulum phosphatidylcholine. Translocation of intermediates across the membrane bilayer during methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine.

Phosphatidylethanolamine of rat liver microsomes is rapidly methylated by S-adenosyl[methyl-14C]methionine to produce phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine, phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine. Using phospholipase C as a probe, on both opened (0.4% taurocholate or French pressure cell treatment) and unopened microsomes, it is demonstrated that phosphatidylcholine is labelled in the inner leaflet of the bilayer and, to a greater extent, in the outer leaflet. Phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine is labelled in the outer leaflet and in a pool sequestered from phospholipase C in open and closed vesicles. Phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine is labelled in a similarly sequestered pool. When microsomes containing labelled phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine and phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine were incubated with unlabeled S-adenosylmethionine, these phospholipids were methylated to produce phosphatidylcholine in the outer leaflet. This metabolism was inhibited by S-adenosylhomocysteine. Trypsin treatment of unopened microsomes inhibited 95% of the incorporation of 14CH3 into the outer leaflet of the bilayer with no effect on incorporation into sequestered phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine, phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine. Therefore, sequestered phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine and phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine are apparently synthesized by enzymes located at the inner surface of the microsomal membranes. These observations suggest that initial methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine takes place at the inner surface of the microsomes and that phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine is transferred to the outer leaflet to produce phosphatidylcholine. However, phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine is also methylated at the inner leaflet to produce phosphatidylcholine which does not equilibrate with that of the outer leaflet. Phosphatidylcholine of both the inner and outer bilayer leaflets is uniformly labelled by injection of [14C]methionine, in vivo.