Identification of two molecular species of rat brain phosphatidylcholine that rapidly incorporate and turn over arachidonic acid in vivo.

In vivo rates of arachidonic acid incorporation and turnover were determined for molecular species of rat brain phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). [3H]Arachidonic acid was infused intravenously in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats at a programmed rate to maintain constant plasma specific activity for 2-10 min. At the end of infusion, animals were killed by microwave irradiation, and brain phospholipids were isolated, converted to diacylglycerobenzoates, and resolved as molecular species by reversed-phase HPLC. Most [3H] arachidonate (> 87%) was incorporated into PtdCho and PtdIns, with arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position and with oleic acid (18:1), palmitic acid (16:0), or stearic acid (18:0) at the sn-1 position. However, 10-15% of labeled brain PtdCho eluted in a small peak containing two molecular species with arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position and palmitoleic acid (16:1) or linoleic acid (18:2) at the sn-1 position. Analysis demonstrated that tracer was present in both the 16:1-20:4 and 18:2-20:4 PtdCho species at specific activities 10-40 times that of the other phospholipids. Based on the measured mass of arachidonate in each phospholipid molecular species, half-lives were calculated for arachidonate of < 10 min in 16:1-20:4 and 18:2-20:4 PtdCho and 1-3 h in 16:0-20:4, 18:1-20:4 PtdCho and PtdIns. The very short half-lives for arachidonate in the 16:1-20:4 and 18:2-20:4 PtdCho molecular species suggest important roles for these molecules in brain phospholipid metabolism and signal transduction.