Presence of the phospholipid methylation pathway in mammalian cultured cells

Stepwise N-methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine was examined by measuring incorporation of the radioactive methyl group of S-adenosylmethionine into phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine, phosphatidyl-N,N'-dimethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine by membranes of five mammalian cultured cell lines (BHK-21 cells, Chang liver cells, PC-12 h cells, MOPC-31C cells and LM cells). The three successive methylation steps were found in all the cells studied, though the total incorporation and the distribution profile of the radioactivity among the products differed with different cells. Furthermore, increase in the amounts of phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine and phosphatidyl-N,N'-dimethylethanolamine in the amine and N,N'-dimethylethanolamine, respectively, resulted in increased methylation of phospholipids. This remarkable enhancement of methylation seems to be a characteristic effect of such modification of membrane phospholipids in mammalian cultured cells.