Synthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in relation to the concentration of membrane-bound diacylglycerols of rat lung microsomes.

Different concentrations of membrane-bound diacylglycerol were generated in vitro in rat lung microsomes by treatment with CMP. Diacylglycerol concentrations of between 16 (endogenous content) and 48 nmol/mg of microsomal protein were obtained. The relative proportion of the disaturated species of diacylglycerol remained constant at all diacylglycerol concentrations. Choline- and ethanolaminephosphotransferase activity was determined in relation to the diacylglycerol concentrations of microsomes. The activity of both phosphotransferases increased. The relative proportion of disaturated phosphatidylcholine synthesized at each diacylglycerol concentration was nearly the same and corresponded to the relative proportion of the disaturated species in the diacylglycerol. Disaturated phosphatidylethanolamine was not formed. The affinities of the choline- and ethanolaminephosphotransferases for the diacylglycerol substrate were different. We conclude that the cholinephosphotransferase is generally non-selective for the diacylglycerol substrate. The available diacylglycerol pattern seems to govern the species pattern of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The kinetics of the phosphotransferases regulate the mass proportion of these phospholipids.