Alteration in the phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis of rat liver microsomes caused by vitamin B6 deficiency

Rats fed with a vitamin B6-deficient 70% casein diet for 5 weeks were found to have decreased considerably in the content of phosphatidylcholine (PC) in liver microsomes, presumably because of the depressed PC biosynthesis from choline or phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The activities of choline phosphokinase and choline phosphotransferase in liver decreased, apparently, as compared with the pair-fed control or control rats. The hepatic level of the PE methyltransferase co-substrate, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), decreased about 1/3, but the level of the inhibitory metabolite, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), was elevated due to the marked reduction in the activities of cystathionine beta-synthase and gamma-cystathionase. The resultant molar ratio of SAM/SAH decreased drastically such that the methylation of PE to PC was decreased in vivo, as confirmed by lowering the activity of PE methyltransferase in vitro in response to a decreased molar ratio of SAM/SAH. A similar effect on the PE methylation was also observed in the pair-fed control rats, but the PC biosynthesis from choline clearly compensated for the drop of PC biosynthesis from PE. Results of this study demonstrate that vitamin B6 deficiency modified methionine metabolism and decreased choline utilization, and thus indirectly affected the biosynthesis of PC in liver microsomes.