Chain length specificity in the utilization of long chain alcohols for ether lipid biosynthesis in rat brain.

A mixture of cis-9[1(-14)C] octadecenol and [1(-14)C] docosanol was injected into the brains of 19-day-old rats, and incorporation of radioactivity into brain lipids was determined after 3, 12, and 24 hr. Both alcohols were metabolized by the brain but at different rates; each was oxidized to the corresponding fatty acid, but oleic acid was more readily incorporated into polar lipids. Substantial amounts of radioactivity were incorporated into 18:1 alkyl and alk-1-enyl moieties of the ethanolamine phosphoglycerides and into 18:1 alkyl moieties of the choline phosphoglycerides. Even after the disappearance of the 18:1 alcohol from the substrate mixture (12 hr), the 22:0 alcohol was not used to any measurable extent for alkyl and alk-1-enylglycerol formation.