A Novel Process Maintaining Glycerophospholipid Homeostasis in Mammalian Cells

Glycerophospholipid (GPL) homeostasis in eukaryotic cells is thought to be maintained via biosynthesis, degradation and acyl chain remodeling. Here we provide evidence for an additional process termed “head-group remodeling” where other GPLs, when in excess, are rapidly converted to phosphatidylcholine and triacylglycerol. Mass spectrometric studies showed the formation of diacylglycerol, but not phosphatidic acid, from the exogenous GPL thus indicating that the first step is catalyzed by a phospholipase C-type enzyme. Consistently, triacylglycerol formation was significantly inhibited by the knock-down of several PLCs, but not phospholipase Ds. Second, we found that each exogenous GPL strongly inhibited the synthesis of the corresponding endogenous GPL class. Based on these and previous data we hypothesize how mammalian cells could coordinate the multiple processes contributing to GPL homeostasis in mammalian cells. In conclusion, this study provides the first evidence that head group remodeling plays an important role in GPL homeostasis in mammalian cells.