Metabolism of phosphatidylethanolamine in the frog retina

The synthesis and the turnover of phosphatidylethanolamine in frog retinal rod outer segments and microsomes were studied by monitoring the incorporation of five radioactive precursors: 32PO4, 33PO4 [3H]glycerol, [3H]serine, and [3H]ethanolamine. 1. Labeled serine was actively incorporated into phosphatidylethanolamine. The kinetics of the labeling patterns in both microsomes and rod outer segments was consistent with formation via decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine. 2. Ethanolamine was found to be an ineffective precursor of phosphatidylethanolamine, suggesting that the major pathway for phosphatidylethanolamine synthesis in the retina is via the decarboxylation reaction. 3. An active methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine was observed in both retinal microsomes and rod outer segments. 4. The kinetics of labeling of phosphatidylethanolamine in the rod outer segments was different for the various isotopic precursors, and was found to depend on the relative turnover times of the precursor pools. Glycerol was the only precursor that gave a true pulse of radioactivity. 5. The specific activity of phosphatidylethanolamine derived from labeled glycerol declined exponentially, demonstrating that the labeled lipid was diffusely distributed throughout the rod outer segments. The half-life of phosphatidylethanolamine in the rod outer segments was determined to be 18 days. Comparison of this value to the turnover time of rod outer segment integral proteins revealed that rod outer segment lipid is renewed at a faster rate than protein.