Abstract
The relative suitability of the 1-palmitoyl and 1-stearoyl homologues of 1-acyl-sn-glyceryl-phosphorylcholine and different acyl donors were tested as substrates for phosphatidylcholine synthesis via the acyl-CoA:1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine acyltransferase in rat lung microsomes. The acyl acceptor was an almost equi-molar mixture of the [3H]palmitoyl plus [14C]stearoyl species of 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine with palmitoyl-, stearoyl-, oleoyl-, linoleoyl- or arachidonoyl-CoA serving as the acyl donor. At all concentrations of acyl acceptor, reaction velocities with 20:4-CoA .gtoreq. 18:2-CoA > 18:1-CoA > 16:0-CoA > 18:0-CoA. The acyltransferase selectively utilized the 1-palmitoyl over the 1-stearoyl species of 1-acylglycerylphosphorylcholine by 4.2- to 5.7-fold optimal assay conditions with the various acyl-CoA thiolesters. The degree of preference exhibited for the 1-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine, as acyl acceptor, versus the 1-stearoyl homologue with palmitoyl-CoA as the acyl donor was not significantly different from that obtained with the other acyl-CoA derivatives. The specificity of the acyl-CoA:1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine acyltransferase indicates an ability of this enzyme to produce dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine but cannot independently explain the predominance of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine in lung or the tendency of stearate at the 1-position to associate with fatty acids of increasing unsaturation at the 2-position.

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