The incorporation of [3H]glycerol and 1-[14C]acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine into different molecular species of phosphatidylcholine in human platelets

The molecular species of phosphatidylcholine which are formed by de novo synthesis and by the acylation of 1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine were characterized and compared in human platelets. For this purpose, intact human platelets were incubated in the presence of [3H]glycerol or 1-[14C]palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and the newly formed radioactive phosphatidylcholine was isolated by thin-layer chromatography. The labelled phosphatidylcholines were converted to their 1,2-diacylglycerol acetate derivatives and fractionated into their various chemical classes (saturates, monoenes, dienes, trienes, tetraenes, and >tetraenes) by argentation thin-layer chromatography. Regardless of the precursor used, the radioactivity distributions among the various classes did not correspond closely to that of the mass. The highest percentage of the radioactivity incorporated from [3H]glycerol was found in the saturates (25% of total), followed closely by the tetraenes (21%) and monoenes (18%), with lesser amounts in the dienes (15%), pentaenes plus hexaenes (14%), and trienes (7%). These results indicate that the de novo pathway is capable of substantial synthesis of tetraenoic (1-acyl 2-arachidonoyl) phosphatidylcholine in human platelets in contrast to previous observations in rat liver. In close agreement with work in rat liver, 59% of the radioactivity in the [14C]phosphatidylcholine derived from 1-[14C]palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was found in the tetraenoic species. The present results, together with the existence of phospholipase A2 and acyltransferase activity in platelets, support the potential importance of a deacylation–acylation cycle for the enrichment of human platelet phosphatidylcholine in arachidonoyl molecular species.