Differential expression of cholinephosphotransferase in normal and cancerous human mammary epithelial cells

Membrane phospholipids as well as fatty acid profile of cell membrane phospholipids are altered in tumorigenicity and malignancy. Synthesis of total cellular phosphatidylcholine (PC) can be used as a marker for membrane proliferation in neoplastic mammary gland tissues. Cholinephosphotransferase (CPT), the terminal enzyme in the de novo synthesis of PC, has an important role in regulating the acyl group of PC in mammalian cells. In this study, the effect of neoplasia on CPT was examined. The gene shows an elevated expression in cancerous (11-9-14) breast epithelial cell line when compared to that of normal non-tumorigenic (MCF-12A) breast epithelial cell line. Four nucleotide substitutions are observed in the cancer cell line. Of these, three are null mutations, but the third one shows an interesting serine to tyrosine substitution (at amino acid position 89 of our partial sequence which corresponds to position 323 of the CPT sequence reported as NM_020244 in GenBank) in 11-9-14 cells. The tyrosine is present in the right context of KSELYQDT, which directs tyrosine phosphorylation at the tyrosine site. Biochemical approach also reveals a 1.5-fold stimulation in CPT activity in 11-9-14 cells compared to that of the MCF-12A cells.