Mammalian cardiolipin biosynthesis

• Mammalian cardiolipin biosynthesis.
• Role of cardiolipin in diabetes, thyroid hormone disease, heart failure and Barth Syndrome.
• Role of cardiolipin in mitochondrial function.

Cardiolipin is a major phospholipid in mitochondria and is involved in the generation of cellular energy in the form of ATP. In mammalian and eukaryotic cells it is synthesized via the cytidine-5′-diphosphate-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol phosphate pathway. This brief review will describe some of the more recent studies on mammalian cardiolipin biosynthesis and provide an overview of regulation of cardiolipin biosynthesis. In addition, the important role that this key phospholipid plays in disease processes including heart failure, diabetes, thyroid hormone disease and the genetic disease Barth Syndrome will be discussed.