Abstract
Lecithin (phosphatidylcholine; PtdCho) is the major phospholipid constituent of most membranes, and it is vital to the normal function of every cell and organ. PtdCho is synthesized from choline in all organs29,30. Much of this choline comes from the diet. PtdCho, in foods such as liver, eggs, soybeans and peanuts, is the most important source of choline in the human diet29. This dietary choline interacts with methionine and folate metabolism so that changes in the availability of choline alter biological methylation reactions. Choline is also used by tissues to make acetylcholine. This chapter will focus on PtdCho as a source of choline in the diet, and upon the biological consequences of diminished availability of choline.
Keywords
- Deficient Group
- Choline Deficiency
- Choline Deficient Diet
- Choline Supplementation
- Dietary Choline
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Atsushi, L, Hellerstein, E. E., Hegsted, D. M. 1963, Composition of dietary fat and the accumulation of liver lipid in the choline-deficient rat. J. Nutr. 79: 488–92.
Barak, A. J, and Tuma, D. J., 1983, Betaine, metabolic by-product or vital methylating agent? [Review]. Life Sci. 32: 771–4.
Berridge, M. J. and Taylor, C. W., 1988, Inositol trisphosphate and calcium signaling. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia On Quantitative Biology. 2: 927–33.
Best, C. H. and Huntsman, M. E., 1932, The effects of the components of lecithin upon the deposition of fat in the liver. J. Physiol. 75: 405–12.
Besterman, J. M., Duronio, V. and Cuatrecasas, P., 1986, Rapid formation of diacylglycerol from phosphatidylcholine: a pathway for generation of a second messenger. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83: 6785–9.
Blusztajn, J. K. and Zeisel, S. H., 1989, 1,2-sn-diacylglycerol accumulates in cholinedeficient liver. A possible mechanism of hepatic carcinogenesis via alteration in protein kinase C activity? FEBS Lett. 243: 267–70.
Buckley, A., Crowe, P. and Russell, D., 1988, Rapid activation of protein kinase C in isolated rat liver nuclei by prolactin, a known hepatic mitogen. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85: 8649–53.
Chao, C. K., Pomfret, E. A. and Zeisel, S. H., 1988, Uptake of choline by rat mammary-gland epithelial cells. Biochem. J. 254: 33–8.
Chen, S. H., Estes, L. W. and Lombardi, B., 1972, Lecithin depletion in hepatic microsomal membranes of rats fed on a choline-deficient diet. Exp. Mol. Pathol. 17: 176–86.
Eagle, H., 1955, The minimum vitamin requirements of the L and Hela cells in tissue culture, the production of specific vitamin deficiencies, and their cure. J. Exptl. Med. 102: 595–600.
Finkelstein, J. D., Martin, J. J., Harris, B. J. and Kyle, W. E., 1982, Regulation of the betaine content of rat liver. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 218: 169–73.
Finkelstein, J. D., Martin, J. J., Harris, B. J. and Kyle, W. E., 1983, Regulation of hepatic betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase by dietary betaine. Journal of Nutrition. 113:519–21.
Ghoshal, A. K. and Farber, E., 1984, The induction of liver cancer by dietary deficiency of choline and methionine without added carcinogens. Carcinogenesis. 5: 1367–1370.
Haines, D. S. and Rose, C. I., 1970, Impaired labelling of liver phosphatidylethanolamine from ethanolamine-14C in choline deficiency. Can. J. Biochem. 48: 885–92.
Hall, R. I., Ross, L. H., Bozovic, M. G. and Grant, J. P., 1985, The effect of choline supplementation on hepatic steatosis in the parenterally fed rat. J. Parent. Ent. Nutr. 9: 597–9.
Kaminski, D. L., Adams, A. and Jellinek, M., 1980, The effect of hyperalimentation on hepatic lipid content and lipogenic enzyme activity in rats and man. Surgery. 88: 93–100.
Lombardi, B., Pani, P. and Schlunk, F. F., 1968, Choline-deficiency fatty liver: impaired release of hepatic triglycérides. J. Lipid Res. 9: 437–46.
Meck, W. H., Smith, R. A. and Williams, C. L., 1988, Pre-and postnatal choline supplementation produces long-term facilitation of spatial memory. Dev. Psychobiol. 21: 339–53.
Megidish, T. and Mazurek, N., 1989, A mutant protein kinase C that can transform fibroblasts. Nature. 342: 807–811.
Michael, U. F., Cookson, S. L., Chavez, R. and Pardo, V., 1975, Renal function in the choline deficient rat. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 150: 672–76.
Newberne, P. M. and Rogers, A. E., 1986, Labile methyl groups and the promotion of cancer. [Review]. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 6: 407–32.
Pelech, S. L. and Vance, D. E., 1984, Regulation of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. [Review]. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 779: 217–51.
Schneider, W. J. and Vance, D. E., 1978, Effect of choline deficiency on the enzymes that synthesize phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in rat liver. Eur. J. Biochem. 85: 181–187.
Sheard, N. F., Tayek, J. A., Bistrian, B. R., Blackburn, G. L. and Zeisel, S. H., 1986, Plasma choline concentration in humans fed parenterally. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 43: 219–24.
Shivapurkar, N. and Poirier, L. A., 1983, Tissue levels of S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine in rats fed methyl-deficient, amino acid-defined diets for one to five weeks. Carcinogenesis. 4: 1051–1057.
Sleight, R. and Kent, C., 1983, Regulation of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in mammalian cells. I. Effects of phospholipase C treatment on phosphatidylcholine metabolism in Chinese hamster ovary cells and L.M. mouse fibroblasts. J. Biol. Chem. 258: 824–830.
Yang, E. K., Blusztajn, J. K., Pomfret, E. A. and Zeisel, S. H., 1988, Rat and human mammary tissue can synthesize choline moiety via the methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine. Biochem. J. 256: 821–8.
Yao, Z. M. and Vance, D. E., 1988, The active synthesis of phosphatidylcholine is required for very low density lipoprotein secretion from rat hepatocytes. J. Biol. Chem. 263: 2998–3004.
Zeisel, S. H., 1981, Dietary choline: biochemistry, physiology, and pharmacology. [Review]. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 1: 95–121.
Zeisel, S. H., 1988, “Vitamin-like” molecules. 440-452.
Zeisel, S. H., Char, D. and Sheard, N. F., 1986, Choline, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin in human and bovine milk and infant formulas. J. Nutr. 116: 50–8.
Zeisel, S. H. and Wurtman, R. J., 1981, Developmental changes in rat blood choline concentration. Biochem. J. 198: 565–70.
Zeisel, S. H., Zola, T., daCosta, K. and Pomfret, E. A., 1989, Effect of choline deficiency on S-adenosylmethionine and methionine concentrations in rat liver. Biochem. J. 259: 725–729.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zeisel, S.H. (1990). Phospholipids and Choline Deficiency. In: Hanin, I., Pepeu, G. (eds) Phospholipids. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1364-0_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1364-0_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1366-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1364-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive