Neural membranes contain glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol, and proteins. These lipids are asymmetrically distributed between the two leaflets of lipid bilayers (Ikeda et al., 2006; Yamaji-Hasegawa and Tsujimoto, 2006). Glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids contribute to the lipid asymmetry, while cholesterol and sphingolipids form lipid microdomains or lipid rafts. Glycerophospholipids are made up of glycerol backbone, fatty acids, phosphoric acid, and nitrogenous base. Depending on the substituent at the sn-1 position of glycerol moiety, glycerophospholipids are classified into two groups. One group is represented by glycerophospholipids that contain ester bond at the sn-1 position, and the other group is represented by glycerophospholipids that contain ether bond at the sn-1 position. Ester bond containing glycerophospholipids include phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho), phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn), phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), whereas ether bond containing glycerophospholipids include plasmalogens, platelet-activating factor (PAF) and its analogs (Farooqui and Horrocks, 2001). PtdCho is mainly located in the outer leaflet, whereas PtdSer, PtdEtn, and PtdIns are mainly located in the inner leaflet (Farooqui and Horrocks, 2007; Farooqui and Horrocks, 2008). Among ether lipids, choline plasmalogen (PlsCho) is located in the outer leaflet, whereas ethanolamine plasmalogen is mainly associated with the inner leaflet.
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(2008). Perspective and Directions for Future Developments on Ether Lipids. In: Metabolism and Functions of Bioactive Ether Lipids in the Brain. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77401-5_12
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