Trans fatty acids: positional specificity in brain lecithin
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates
Published on: November 23, 2016
Abstract:
Fifteen-day-old rats were divided into three groups: one group received an intracerebral injection of 5 microCi of 9-trans,12-trans [1-(14)C] octadecadienoic acid; the second group was given 5 microCi of the same compound plus an equal wt of nonradioactive all cis arachidonic acid; the third group was given 5 microCi of 9-trans [1-(14)C] octadecenoic acid. All animals were sacrificed 8 hr after injection. Glycerophosphocholine (GPC) was isolated and partically deacylated with phospholipase A2 from Crotalus Adamanteus venom. The results of this study were as follows: 1) after t[1-(14)C]18:1 injection, there was twice as much radioactivity in the 1-position as in the 2-position; 2) when tt[1-(14)C] 18:2 was injected, more than 90% of the total radioactivity was found in the 2-position; 3) following tt[1-(14)C]-18:2 + nonradioactive arachidonate injection, ca. 75% of the total radioactivity still remained in the 2-position; and 4) all of the injected [1-(14)C]-tracers showed evidence of undergoing beta-oxidation to form acetyl-CoA, which was converted to radioactive palmitate. The possibility is discussed that the observed distribution pattern of the injected radioactive tracers may be attributed to tissue metabolic specificity. Ramifications of the deposition of dietary trans fatty acids in the brain during the developmental stage of the central nervous system are also discussed.
More Related Videos
11:14Fatty Acid 13C Isotopologue Profiling Provides Insight into Trophic Carbon Transfer and Lipid Metabolism of Invertebrate Consumers
Published on: April 17, 2018
11:59Isolation of Lipoprotein Particles from Chicken Egg Yolk for the Study of Bacterial Pathogen Fatty Acid Incorporation into Membrane Phospholipids
Published on: May 15, 2019
Related Concept Videos
What are Lipids?
Structure of Lipids
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
What are Lipids?
Non-Polar and Hydrophobic Characteristics of Lipids
Lipids are a structurally and functionally diverse group of hydrocarbons—compounds consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds...