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The Kennedy pathway— De novo synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine
Author(s) -
Gibellini Federica,
Smith Terry K.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1002/iub.337
Subject(s) - phosphatidylethanolamine , phosphatidylcholine , phospholipid , glycerophospholipids , glycerophospholipid , chemistry , biochemistry , biosynthesis , ethanolamine , function (biology) , membrane , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , gene
The glycerophospholipids phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) account for greater than 50% of the total phospholipid species in eukaryotic membranes and thus play major roles in the structure and function of those membranes. In most eukaryotic cells, PC and PE are synthesized by an aminoalcoholphosphotransferase reaction, which uses sn ‐1,2‐diradylglycerol and either CDP‐choline or CDP‐ethanolamine, respectively. This is the last step in a biosynthetic pathway known as the Kennedy pathway, so named after Eugene Kennedy who elucidated it over 50years ago. This review will cover various aspects of the Kennedy pathway including: each of the biosynthetic steps, the functions androles of the phospholipid products PC and PE, and how the Kennedy pathway has the potential of being a chemotherapeutic target against cancer and various infectious diseases. © 2010 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 62(6): 414–428, 2010