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Food Lipids: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Biotechnology

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fatty acids <strong>and</strong> a dynamic system for membrane property homeostasis. A generalized<br />

pathway for the remodeling of a phospholipid (L<strong>and</strong>s pathway) [60] involves (1)<br />

removal of the acyl group from the phospholipid via a lipase activity; (2) conversion<br />

of the fatty acid to an acyl CoA thioester; (3) a modification event, such as elongation<br />

or desaturation; <strong>and</strong> (4) reesterification of the acyl group or the insertion of a new<br />

acyl unit onto the lysophospholipid (Fig. 3). The first step in the L<strong>and</strong>s pathway<br />

requires the hydrolysis of the acyl chain from the phospholipid <strong>and</strong> is catalyzed by<br />

the phospholipase A family of enzymes. Phospholipases have specificities for both<br />

the phospholipid position <strong>and</strong> acyl chains, <strong>and</strong> these specificities contribute to the<br />

regulation of membrane remodeling. Phospholipases are well reviewed by Waite [61].<br />

Once a phospholipase has acted on an acyl chain, the fatty acid must then be activated<br />

to an acyl CoA thioester. This is accomplished via the action of acyl CoA<br />

ligases. There are several distinct acyl CoA ligase activities, each with its own cellular<br />

locations <strong>and</strong> acyl preferences [62]. The activated acyl CoA complex can be<br />

converted by desaturation or elongation (see above) <strong>and</strong> reacylated into a lysophospholipid.<br />

The acyltransferase enzymes catalyze the esterification of acyl chains from<br />

acyl CoA thioesters into lysophospholipids. Two types of acyltransferase activities<br />

are relevant to membrane remodeling, <strong>and</strong> not surprisingly, they catalyze the insertion<br />

of a fatty acid into either the sn-1 or sn-2 position of phospholipids. The first type<br />

of enzyme, typified by glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, is capable of inserting<br />

an acyl chain into the sn-1 position of glycerol-3-phosphate <strong>and</strong> has a general preference<br />

for saturated acyl CoA [63,64]. In fact, glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase<br />

is a number of distinct enzymes capable of carrying out the same reaction at different<br />

locations in the cell, <strong>and</strong> with varying acyl CoA preferences [62,63]. The primary<br />

Figure 3 A generalized scheme for the fatty acid remodeling of phospholipids (the L<strong>and</strong>s<br />

pathway) [60].<br />

Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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