The phosphatidylcholine transfer protein from bovine liver discriminates between phosphatidylcholine isomers. A...

The activity of the phosphatidylcholine transfer protein from bovine liver toward phosphatidylcholine isomers carrying a long and a short fatty acyl chain on either the sn-1- or sn-2-position was determined by way of the monolayer-vesicle assay. In this assay equimolar mixtures of the isomers were spread at the air/water interface and their transfer measured to the vesicles in the subphase initiated by addition of the transfer protein. The following isomers were tested: 1-decanoyl-2-[3H]oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C10:0/[3H]C18:1-PC) and 1-oleoyl-2-decanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[14C]choline (C18:1/C10:0-[14C]PC); 1-lauroyl-2-[3H]oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C12:0/[3H]C18:1-PC) and 1-oleoyl-2-[14C]lauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C18:1/[14C]C12:0-PC); 1-myristoyl-2-[3H]oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C14:0/[3H]C18:1-PC) and 1-oleoyl,2-myristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[14C]choline (C18:1/C14:0-[14C]PC). It was found that the protein transferred C10:0/[3H]C18:1-PC twice as fast as C18:1/C10:0-[14C]PC. Similar differences in rate were observed for C12:0/[3H]C18:1-Pc and C18:1/[14C]C12:0-PC but not for the isomers carrying myristic acid. We propose that the transfer protein can discriminate between PC isomers due to the presence of distinct binding sites for the sn-1- and sn-2-acyl chain (Berkhout et al. (1984) Biochemistry, 23, 1505-1513).