Phosphatidic acid phosphatase activity in subcellular fractions of normal and dystrophic human muscle.

Biopsy samples from normal and dystrophic human muscle (Duchenne type) were fractionated by differential centrifugation and microsomes, mitochondria and cytosol were assayed for phosphatidic acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.4) and marker enzymes of mitochondria and cytosol. The activity of phosphatidic acid phosphatase was significantly lower in microsomes and higher in cytosol and mitochondria of dystrophic muscle than in the corresponding subcellular fractions of normal muscle. The results support an explanation of earlier findings that there is reduced G3P incorporation into diglycerides and phosphatidylcholine and a qualitative and quantitative change in the amount of phosphatidylcholine in dystrophic microsomes. The possible reasons for the reduction in the activity of only microsomal PA-P-ase were discussed.