Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 53226, USA.
Amino Acids. 2011 Nov;41(5):1071-9. doi: 10.1007/s00726-009-0386-9. Epub 2009 Nov 22.
Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is a major component in the mammalian plasma membrane. It is present mainly in the inner leaflet of the membrane bilayer in a viable, typical mammalian cell. However, accumulating evidence indicates that a number of biological events involve PE externalization. For instance, PE is concentrated at the surface of cleavage furrow between mitotic daughter cells and is correlated with the dynamics of contractile ring. In apoptotic cells, PE is exposed to the cell surface, thus providing a molecular marker for detection. In addition, PE is a cofactor in the anticoagulant mechanism, and a distinct distribution profile of PE has been documented at the blood-endothelium interface. These recent discoveries were made possible using PE-specific probes derived from duramycin and cinnamycin, which are members of type B lantibiotics. This review provides an account on the features of these PE-specific lantibiotics in the context of molecular probes for the characterization of PE on a cellular and tissue level. According to the existing data, PE is likely a versatile chemical species that plays a role in the regulation of defined biological and physiological activities. The utilities of lantibiotic-based molecular probes will help accelerate the characterization of PE as an abundant, yet elusive membrane component.
磷脂酰乙醇胺（PE）是哺乳动物质膜的主要成分。在活的典型哺乳动物细胞中，它主要存在于膜双层的内小叶。然而，越来越多的证据表明，许多生物学事件涉及到 PE 的外向化。例如，PE 在有丝分裂子细胞之间的分裂沟表面浓缩，并与收缩环的动力学相关。在凋亡细胞中，PE 暴露于细胞表面，从而为检测提供了分子标记。此外，PE 是抗凝机制的辅助因子，并且在血液-内皮界面记录到 PE 的独特分布模式。这些最近的发现是使用源自 duramycin 和 cinnamycin 的 PE 特异性探针实现的，duramycin 和 cinnamycin 是 B 型类细菌素的成员。这篇综述介绍了这些 PE 特异性类细菌素在细胞和组织水平上用于表征 PE 的分子探针方面的特征。根据现有数据，PE 很可能是一种多功能的化学物质，在调节特定的生物和生理活动中发挥作用。基于类细菌素的分子探针的应用将有助于加速将 PE 作为丰富但难以捉摸的膜成分进行表征。
