Activation of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase by hypochlorite-oxidized phosphatidylcholines

CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CT) catalyzes a rate-limiting, regulatory step in mammalian biosynthesis of phosphocholine (PC). Anionic phospholipids, fatty acids and diacylglycerol activate CT and promote its intercalation into the lipid bilayer, whereas zwitterionic phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholines do not. We investigated the effectiveness of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines as CT activators after hypochlorite oxidation. Detection and quantitation of oxidized PCs were evaluated by thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and conjugated dienes. Purified CT was assayed in the presence of multilamellar vesicles, containing variable concentrations of oxidized and parent PCs. The results demonstrate that particular species of oxidized PCs activate CT as potently as anionic lipids. The greater the number of double bonds available for oxidation in the fatty acid at the sn-2 position of the PC, the more effective was the oxidized PC as an activator of CT. Oxidized phospholipids at 1:1 bleach/lipid activated CT in the following order: PAPC>PL₃PC>PL₂PC compared to unoxidized controls. Since oxidized phospholipids decrease bilayer order (M.L. Wratten et al., Biochemistry 31 (1992) 10901–10907) these results are consistent with the activation of CT by perturbations of lipid bilayer packing.