Differential labelling of sphingolipids by [3H]serine and ([3H]methyl)-methionine in fish leukocytes

Long chain bases are constituents of all sphingolipids and their biosynthesis is presumed to occur via the initial condensation of serine with palmitoyl-CoA. The biosynthesis of phytosphingosine, a long chain base containing three hydroxyl groups, has been less studied than sphingosine but is assumed to occur by hydroxylation of sphinganine. We report in this paper that the label from ([3H]methyl)-methionine is preferentially incorporated into phytosphingosine bases of neutral glycosphingolipids, whereas the label from [3H]serine is mainly incorporated into the sphingoid base of sphingomyelin. These results show that in fish leukocytes the biosynthesis of individual sphingoid bases and their downstream sphingolipid products follow different pathways of metabolism. Our observations suggest that in fish leukocytes the synthesis of the constitutive long chain bases of sphingomyelin and complex glycosphingolipids is coordinately regulated and may be localized in separate compartments.