Phospholipid synthesis in a membrane fraction associated with mitochondria

A crude rat liver mitochondrial fraction that was capable of the rapid, linked synthesis of phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn), and phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) labeled from [3-3H] serine has been fractionated. PtdSer synthase, PtdEtn methyltransferase, and CDP-choline:diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase activities were present in the crude mitochondrial preparation but were absent from highly purified mitochondria and could be attributed to the presence of a membrane fraction, X. Thus, previous claims of the mitochondrial location of some of these enzymes might be explained by the presence of fraction X in the mitochondrial preparation. Fraction X had many similarities to microsomes except that it sedimented with mitochondria (at 10,000 x g). However, the specific activities of PtdSer synthase and glucose-6-phosphate phosphatase in fraction X were almost twice that of microsomes, and the specific activities of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase and NADPH:cytochrome c reductase in fraction X were much lower than in microsomes. The marker enzymes for mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, plasma membrane, lysosomes, and peroxisomes all had low activities in fraction X. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed distinct differences, as well as similarities, among the proteins of fraction X, microsomes, and rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The combined mitochondria-fraction X membranes can synthesize PtdSer, PtdEtn, and PtdCho from serine. Thus, fraction X in combination with mitochondria might be responsible for the observed compartmentalization of a serine-labeled pool of phospholipids previously identified (Vance, J. E., and Vance, D. E. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 4486-4491) and might be involved in the transfer of lipids between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria.