March 2001
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The main components of biological membranes are phosphoglyceride lipids composed of a glycerol unit esterified to two fatty acids and a polar alcohol group. The properties of phospholipids give lipid bilayer membranes their self-organizing structure. The polar alcohol group is hydrophilic and organizes itself in the membrane facing outward toward water, while the hydrophobic fatty acid alkyl chains face inward toward other fatty acid chains. One of the primary membrane phospholipids is phosphatidylcholine, in which the polar head group is composed of phosphocholine. The biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine follow similar routes. The first step in phosphatidylcholine is the phosphorylation of choline to make phosphocholine, which is then activated by CTP. CDP-choline reacts with diacylglycerol to produce phosphatidylcholine. |
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