Plasmenylcholine (1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) biosynthesis in guinea-pig heart and liver: cholinephosphotransferase is a bifunctional enzyme for the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine and plasmenylcholine.

Plasmenylcholine is present in significant proportion (32% of choline phosphoglycerides) in the guinea-pig heart but exists as a minor component (3% of choline phosphoglycerides) in the guinea-pig liver. In this study, the biosynthesis of plasmenylcholine in these two organs was examined. The organs were perfused with labelled choline for 15 min and chased with unlabelled choline for up to 7 h. The labelling of phosphatidylcholine was 6-fold higher than that of plasmenylcholine in the heart and about 60-fold higher in the liver. However, the same labelling ratio was maintained throughout the chase period in both organs. Alterations in the specific radioactivity of CDP-choline caused corresponding changes in the labelling of phosphatidylcholine and plasmenylcholine. Our results suggest that in guinea-pig heart and liver, CDP-choline is the immediate precursor of biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine and plasmenylcholine. The biochemical cause for the difference in their rates of formation between the two organs was explored. The enzyme activities for the formation of both choline phosphoglycerides were determined. The two reactions share the same characteristics, and 1,2-diacylglycerol and 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acylglcerol were found to be mutually inhibitory in a competitive fashion. The pool sizes of 1,2-diacylglycerol and 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acylglycerol were determined, and their ratios were found to be 42 in the heart and 422 in the liver. We conclude that cholinephosphotransferase catalyses the formation of both phosphatidylcholine and plasmenylcholine in the guinea-pig tissues and the rate of plasmenylcholine biosynthesis is dependent on the availability of 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acylglycerol. Plasmenylcholine biosynthesis is also subjected to modulation by the 1,2-diacylglycerol content of the tissue.