Mammalian acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase enzymes.

The mammalian RBC lacks de novo lipid synthesis but maintains its membrane composition by rapid turnover of acyl moieties at the sn-2 position of phospholipids. Plasma-derived fatty acids are esterified to acyl-CoA by acyl-CoA synthetases and transferred to lysophospholipids by acyl-CoA:lysophospholipid acyltransferases. We report the characterization of three lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) acyltransferases (LPCATs), products of the AYTL1, -2, and -3 genes. These proteins are three members of a LPCAT family, of which all three genes are expressed in an erythroleukemic cell line. Aytl2 mRNA was detected in mouse reticulocytes, and the presence of the product of the human ortholog was confirmed in adult human RBCs. The three murine Aytl proteins generated phosphatidylcholine from long-chain acyl-CoA and lysoPC when expressed in Escherichia coli membranes. Spliced variants of Aytl1, affecting a conserved catalytic motif, were identified. Calcium and magnesium modulated LPCAT activity of both Aytl1 and -2 proteins that exhibit EF-hand motifs at the C terminus. Characterization of the product of the Aytl2 gene as the phosphatidylcholine reacylating enzyme in RBCs represents the identification of a plasma membrane lysophospholipid acyltransferase and establishes the function of a LPCAT protein.