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Science 5 September 1980:
Vol. 209. no. 4461, pp. 1082 - 1090
DOI: 10.1126/science.6157192
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Articles

Science, Vol 209, Issue 4461, 1082-1090
Copyright © 1980 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Phospholipid methylation and biological signal transmission

F Hirata and J Axelrod

Many types of cells methylate phospholipids using two methyltransferase enzymes that are asymmetrically distributed in membranes. As the phospholipids are successively methylated, they are translocated from the inside to the outside of the membrane. When catecholamine neurotransmitters, lectins, immunoglobulins or chemotaxic peptides bind to the cell surface, they stimulate the methyltransferase enzymes and reduce membrane viscosity. The methylation of phospholipids is coupled to Ca2+ influx and the release of arachidonic acid, lysophosphatidylcholine, and prostaglandins. These closely associated biochemical changes facilitate the transmission of many signals through membranes, resulting in the generation of adenosine 3',5'-monophophate in many cell types, release of histamine in mast cells and basophils, mitogenesis in lymphocytes, and chemotaxis in neutrophils.


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