Name: phosphatidylcholine’s roles in cell membranes
Uploaded: 2023-04-30T10:12:37.000Z
Duration: 1 min 27 s
Channel: JoVE

Glycerophospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine, are one of the major components of eukaryotic cell membranes.
It is an important building block for new membranes during cell growth and division.
Additionally, it maintains membrane integrity and participates in cell signaling pathways.
Phosphatidylcholine is mainly synthesized in the ER using three primary reactants &#8212; free fatty acids, glycerol phosphate, and cytidine-diphosphocholine or CDP-choline, in the presence of enzymes embedded in the ER membrane.
As they are hydrophobic, free fatty acids use fatty acid-binding proteins to navigate through the cytosol. On reaching the ER membrane, they are activated by acyl-CoA ligase.
The membrane acyltransferase combines two activated fatty acids with glycerol phosphate to form a molecule of phosphatidic acid, which is inserted in the membrane.
Next, the phosphate head group of phosphatidic acid is removed by an enzyme phosphatase, converting phosphatidic acid into diacylglycerol.
Finally, choline phosphotransferase transfers the choline group from CDP-choline to diacylglycerol, resulting in a phosphatidylcholine molecule in the cytosolic leaflet of the ER membrane.

synthesis of phosphatidylcholine in the er membrane

Synthesis of Phosphatidylcholine in the ER Membrane

The ER synthesizes lipids for building cell membranes and performing cellular functions such as energy storage and signaling. The lipid synthesis machinery embedded in the ER membrane primarily collects all reactants from the cytosol. Following synthesis, the secretory pathway and the ER contact sites distribute these lipids to other cellular organelles. Additionally, the energy-rich triacylglycerides are transported from the ER via lipid droplets.
The major components of all eukaryotic cell membranes are glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterols. Glycerophospholipids play diverse functions in a cell. They act as a barrier for transporting compounds across the membrane, serve as secondary messengers, and store energy. The most abundant glycerophospholipids in higher eukaryotic cell membranes are phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.
Synthesis of Phosphatidylcholine 
Phosphatidylcholine synthesis in nucleated mammalian cells occurs by the CDP-choline pathway or the Kennedy pathway using CTP as an energy substrate for metabolite activation. In this pathway, the glycerophospholipids synthesis occurs via modification of phosphatidic acid &#8212; the simplest glycerophospholipid with a phosphate head group. Enzymatic alterations to the phosphate head group yield important membrane glycerophospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine.
Subcellular roles of Phosphatidylcholine 
Besides its role in membrane building, phosphatidylcholine is vital in synthesizing and stabilizing lipoproteins like VLDL, a significant component of the lipid droplets. In the liver cells, the molar ratio of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylethanolamine in the plasma membrane affects the integrity of cells, which is critical for normal functioning. The compromised membranes result in the ballooning of the hepatocytes linked to conditions such as&#160; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease leading to liver failure. The rate of synthesis and acyl-chain composition of phosphatidylcholine vary as per tissue-specific needs. For example, saturated dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine helps reduce surface tension in the lung alveoli, especially in neonatal infants.

The ER synthesizes lipids for building cell membranes and performing cellular functions such as energy storage and signaling. The lipid synthesis ...

synthesis-of-phosphatidylcholine-in-the-er-membrane

Education

JoVE Core

Cell Biology

Unit 1

Transmembrane Transport in Endoplasmic Reticulum and Peroxisomes

transmembrane-transport-in-endoplasmic-reticulum-and-peroxisomes

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

phosphatidylcholine’s roles in cell membranes

Phosphatidylcholine is a major glycerophospholipid in cell membranes. The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, makes lipids that help build membranes and support cell functions such as energy storage and signaling. The lipid-making machinery sits in the ER membrane and gathers its reactants from the cytosol, the fluid inside the cell.

After phosphatidylcholine and other lipids are made, the cell moves them to other organelles through the secretory pathway and through ER contact sites. Energy-rich triacylglycerides are also shipped out of the ER in lipid droplets. In eukaryotic cells, the main membrane lipids include glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterols. Glycerophospholipids help form a barrier, act as secondary messengers, and store energy.

In higher eukaryotic membranes, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are the most abundant glycerophospholipids. In mammalian cells with nuclei, phosphatidylcholine is made by the CDP-choline pathway, also called the Kennedy pathway. This pathway uses CTP as an energy source to activate metabolites. It builds phosphatidylcholine by modifying phosphatidic acid, the simplest glycerophospholipid with a phosphate head group.

Changing the phosphate head group by enzymes can produce key membrane lipids such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Phosphatidylcholine also helps make and stabilize lipoproteins such as VLDL, which is a major part of lipid droplets. In liver cells, the balance between phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in the plasma membrane affects cell integrity. When that balance is disturbed, hepatocytes can balloon, a change linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver failure.

Phosphatidylcholine is not the same in every tissue. Its synthesis rate and acyl-chain composition change to match local needs. In the lungs, saturated dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine helps lower surface tension in the alveoli. This is especially important in newborn infants.

Phosphatidylcholine’s Roles in Cell Membranes

phosphatidylcholines-roles-in-cell-membranes

the endoplasmic reticulum

ER Membranes, Microsomes, and Cell Support

The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, is a major membrane network in eukaryotic cells. It makes up more than half of a cell’s membranes and about 10% of total cell volume. The ER also serves as a main site for protein and lipid synthesis for organelles such as the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, secretory vesicles, and the plasma membrane. The ER was also the last major cell organelle to be discovered. In 1954, Keith Porter and George Palade produced the first high-resolution electron microscope...

smooth endoplasmic reticulum

Smooth ER in Lipids, Sugar, and Detox

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum, or smooth ER, is a cell organelle with specialized jobs in both animal and plant cells. It is often linked to the tubular shape of the endoplasmic reticulum. Its main role is to support processes that need the right internal conditions inside the cell. Smooth ER is an important site for making steroid hormones and lipids. These lipids include phospholipids and triglycerides. It also makes major membrane lipids such as phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine,...

role of er in the secretory pathway

ER Quality Control in Protein Secretion

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) helps control protein secretion in eukaryotic cells. It acts as the first checkpoint in the secretory pathway, where many proteins are folded, modified, and tested for quality before they move on. The secretory pathway links membrane-bound compartments inside the cell and also connects cells to the outside environment. About one-third of the proteins made in a cell travel this route. These proteins move in membrane-bound vesicles between the ER, the ER-Golgi...

directing proteins to the rough endoplasmic reticulum

directing-proteins-to-the-rough-endoplasmic-reticulum

How SRP Targets Proteins to Rough ER

Proteins made in the cytosol often need a signal sequence to reach the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These organelle-specific signals act like address tags and guide proteins to places such as the ER, mitochondria, and peroxisomes. Proteins sent to the ER may later move in vesicles through the Golgi complex to other organelles or leave the cell. The rough ER makes soluble proteins that can be sent to lysosomes or secreted outside the cell. It also makes transmembrane proteins, which become...

protein translocation machinery on the er membrane

protein-translocation-machinery-on-the-er-membrane

ER Membrane Translocon and Protein Entry

The translocon complex on the ER membrane acts as the main gateway for the protein secretory pathway. It moves new peptides into the ER lumen and also helps insert proteins into the ER membrane. In eukaryotes, the core of this complex is the Sec61 channel. Sec61 is a heterotrimer made of Sec61α, Sec61β, and Sec61γ, and it is the largest part of the translocon. In higher eukaryotes such as mammals, the channel is capped when it is resting. This helps prevent ions such as calcium from leaking...

cotranslational protein translocation

Sec61 and SRP in Protein Targeting

Sec61 and SRP help move newly made proteins across membranes during cotranslational translocation. This process is ancient and has been found in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes. The machinery is conserved across these groups, which shows how important it is for cells. During cotranslational translocation, the Sec61 channel works with the signal recognition particle, or SRP, the SRP receptor, or SR, and ribosomes. SRP binds the ribosome through the polypeptide exit tunnel in the large...

post-translational translocation of proteins to the rer

post-translational-translocation-of-proteins-to-the-rer

Sec62-Sec63 Pathway for ER Protein Import

Post-translational translocation moves some proteins from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) after they are made. These proteins still use the Sec translocon complex to cross the ER membrane and enter the ER lumen. During this process, Hsp40 and Hsp70 chaperones bind the new protein in the cytosol and help stop it from folding too soon. That chaperone binding also keeps the signal sequence exposed so it can contact the Sec61 channel. The ER signal sequence has features that help...

insertion of single-pass transmembrane proteins in the rer

insertion-of-single-pass-transmembrane-proteins-in-the-rer

Single-pass Membrane Protein Topology in the ER

Single-pass membrane protein topology in the ER explains how certain proteins are built into a cell membrane. Integral membrane proteins are attached to the lipid bilayer of a cell organelle or membrane. They may span the membrane as transmembrane proteins, or they may sit on one side only as monotopic proteins. Transmembrane proteins have both membrane-spanning and extra-membrane domains. Their transmembrane regions usually contain 20-25 hydrophobic amino acids arranged in a helical shape.

insertion of multi-pass transmembrane proteins in the rer

insertion-of-multi-pass-transmembrane-proteins-in-the-rer

How Multipass Proteins Enter the ER Membrane

Multipass transmembrane proteins enter the rough ER membrane through a stepwise insertion process. These proteins are type IV integral membrane proteins, and they use multiple topogenic sequences to set their final position in the membrane. They can stay in the ER or later move to the Golgi complex, lysosome, or cell membrane. Most multipass proteins do not have a cleavable signal sequence. Instead, their first hydrophobic segment, also called a transmembrane domain, acts as the ER signal...

tail-anchoring of proteins in the er membrane

tail-anchoring-of-proteins-in-the-er-membrane

ER Membrane Targeting of Tail-Anchored Proteins

Tail-anchored proteins are a group of membrane proteins that reach the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, after they are made. They make up about 3% to 5% of membrane proteins in eukaryotic cells. These proteins have one transmembrane domain near the C-terminal end, which is the last part of the protein chain. Because the transmembrane segment is so close to the end, the signal recognition particle, or SRP, cannot bring these proteins to the ER for cotranslational insertion. Cotranslational...

gpi anchoring of proteins in the er membrane

gpi-anchoring-of-proteins-in-the-er-membrane

How GPI-Linked Proteins Reach the Membrane

GPI-linked proteins are made through a post-translational modification that helps place them on the outer side of the plasma membrane in eukaryotic cells. The GPI, or glycosylphosphatidylinositol, anchor is reversible and is built through 11 enzyme-driven steps. It includes a hydrophobic part and a hydrophilic part. The hydrophobic region contains phosphatidylinositol. The hydrophilic region includes phosphoethanolamine, glucosamine, mannose residues, and phosphate groups. Phosphoethanolamine...

protein modifications in the rer

Rough ER Protein Folding Changes

Rough ER protein folding changes help secretory and transmembrane proteins mature inside the ER lumen. These changes support folding and help stabilize the protein’s final three-dimensional shape. They happen at different stages as the protein folds. The main rough ER modifications fall into four groups: glycosylation, disulfide bond formation, assembly of protein subunits, and specific proteolytic cleavages, such as removal of signal sequences. N-linked glycosylation is the most common. In...

protein folding quality check in the rer

ER Glycoprotein Folding Checkpoint

The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, is the main site where soluble and transmembrane secretory proteins mature and fold. A key part of this process is the calnexin cycle, a chaperone system that folds and checks N-glycosylated proteins before they leave the ER lumen. If this system cannot rescue a misfolded protein, the protein is sent to the cytoplasm for degradation. Calnexin and calreticulin are lectin chaperones. Lectins are glycoprotein-binding proteins, and these two are unique because...

export of misfolded proteins out of the er

export-of-misfolded-proteins-out-of-the-er

How the ER Clears Misfolded Proteins

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) checks secretory and membrane proteins after they fold. Correctly folded proteins move through the calnexin cycle and continue to their final destination. Misfolded proteins are kept in the ER lumen, where ER chaperones try to unfold and refold them. When refolding fails, the protein becomes terminally misfolded. The ER then sends it to the cytosol through ER-associated degradation, or ERAD, for destruction. In this pathway, Hrd1 acts as both a ubiquitin ligase...

the unfolded protein response

ER Stress Control by the UPR

The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, is a major site of protein synthesis in the cell. It also has strong quality control systems for protein folding and for breaking down misfolded proteins that cannot be fixed. Under normal conditions, some misfolded proteins are sent from the ER to the cytoplasm through ER-associated degradation, or ERAD. If ERAD cannot keep up, the cell turns on the unfolded protein response, or UPR. This response helps the cell adjust its protein folding pathways and reduce...

regulation of the unfolded protein response

regulation-of-the-unfolded-protein-response

IRE1 Signaling in ER Stress

IRE1 signaling helps cells respond to stress in the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER. IRE1, short for inositol-requiring kinase one, is the most conserved eukaryotic unfolded protein response receptor. It is a type I transmembrane protein kinase receptor with a site-specific RNase, or RNA-cutting, activity. The way misfolded proteins bind to the N-terminal domain of IRE1 is still not fully clear. Three activation models have been proposed: direct, indirect, and allosteric. Once a misfolded protein...

Phosphatidylcholine is a major glycerophospholipid in cell membranes. The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, makes lipids that help build membranes and support cell functions such as energy storage and signaling. The lipid-making machinery sits in the ER membrane and gathers its reactants from the cytosol, the fluid inside the cell. After phosphatidylcholine and other lipids are made, the cell moves them to other organelles through the secretory pathway and through ER contact sites. Energy-rich...

assembly of the lipid bilayer in the er

How the ER Balances Membrane Lipids

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) helps build and balance membrane lipids in cells. Biological membranes are not just barriers. They also keep cells and organelles stable and support communication between and within cells. Many membranes are made largely of phospholipids, which are a major type of membrane lipid. These lipids are not spread evenly. They differ from one organelle to another and even between the two layers, or leaflets, of a membrane. The ER is the starting point of the secretory...

peroxisomes

Peroxisome Functions in Cells

Peroxisomes are specialized organelles found in fungi, plant, and animal cells. Their number, size, shape, and activity can change with the tissue type and the cell’s nutritional state. Cells with active lipid metabolism, such as adipocytes, neurons, and hepatocytes, often contain more peroxisomes than other cells. Peroxisomes help break down complex organic molecules. They also synthesize certain macromolecules and take part in redox signaling, which is a way cells use oxidation and reduction...

protein import into the peroxisomes

How Peroxisomes Receive Their Proteins

Peroxisomes receive many of their proteins from the cytoplasm and the endoplasmic reticulum. These membrane-bound organelles oxidize organic molecules by transferring hydrogen atoms to oxygen. This process produces hydrogen peroxide, which peroxisomes then break down into water and oxygen. Peroxisomes do not have the genetic machinery to make their own proteins. Most peroxisomal membrane, lumenal, and transmembrane proteins are made in the cytoplasm or the ER and then moved to the peroxisome.

key terms and concepts

Learn how the ER makes phosphatidylcholine, a key membrane lipid, and why it matters for lipoproteins, liver cells, and lung function in high school biology.

Phosphatidylcholine’s Roles in Cell Membranes | JoVE K12

cell biology

JoVE Core Cell Biology illustrates complex cellular processes in easy-to-understand yet comprehensive animated video lessons. This collection focuses on the essential components and functions of cells, including organelles and membranes, cellular transport, and cell energetics. It is complemented by scientist-in-action videos that demonstrate the application of cell biology in real-world research experiments.

Phosphatidylcholine’s Roles in Cell Membranes

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