[Current hypotheses on the mechanism of action of lithium. II. Lithium and membranes; from the receptor to cyclic nucleotide by the way of membrane phospholipids].

This article details how lithium affects the membrane. Lithium would counter variations in receptor sensitivity. This hypothesis has been taken up by many authors working with different models. The practical implications of such an effect remain to be defined. Also, lithium would act on the metabolism of cyclic nucleotides, principally cyclic AMP. The enzyme adenylate-cyclase, which synthesizes the nucleotide, might be one of the main targets of its therapeutic action. Between the receptors at the exterior of the membrane and the second messengers inside the cell, the mechanisms of information transfer across the membrane (or transductor system) would in turn be affected by the cation. More precisely, by interfering with the metabolism of phospholipids, essential components of this system, lithium would modify the usual functioning of the transductor. All these observations suggest a global stabilizing effect on the membrane.