Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1950084 | Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids | 2007 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
Choline is an important nutrient for humans and animals. Animals obtain choline from the diet and from the catabolism of phosphatidylcholine made by phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT). The unique model of complete choline deprivation is Pemtâ/â mice that are fed a choline-deficient diet. This model, therefore, can be used for the examination of choline substitutes in mammalian systems. Recently, propanolamine was found to be a replacement for choline in yeast. Thus, we tested to see whether or not choline can be replaced by propanolamine in mice. Mice were fed a choline-deficient diet and supplemented with either methionine, 2-amino-propanol, 2-amino-isopropanol and 3-amino-propanol. We were unable to detect the formation of any of the possible phosphatidylpropanolamines. Moreover, none of them prevented liver damage, reduction of hepatic phosphatidylcholine levels or fatty liver induced in choline-deficient-Pemtâ/â mice. These results suggest that choline in mice cannot be replaced by any of the three propanolamine derivatives.
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Authors
Zhaoyu Li, Dennis E. Vance,