Localisation of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein in the brain and other tissues of the rat.

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) is a highly-conserved 21- to 23-kDa basic protein that shows preferential affinity in vitro for phosphatidylethanolamine. Previous studies have focussed on PEBP in the brain and male reproductive tract where it has been proposed to play a role in membrane biogenesis. In the present more comprehensive study, rat PEBP transcripts and protein have been found to be expressed in all tissues examined, although the levels vary considerably between tissues. However, at the cellular level, PEBP expression is enigmatic, being restricted to a diverse range of highly specialised neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. The nature of this diversity, ranging from oligodendrocytes to plasma cells, whilst not precluding a role for PEBP in membrane biogenesis in some cell types, would imply that this is not the major function in others.