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Lipid Composition and Temperature Adaptation of the Nervous System of the Leech Hirudo medicinalis L.
Author(s) -
Spinedi Angelo,
Rufini Stefano,
Luly Paolo
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1987.tb03392.x
Subject(s) - hirudo medicinalis , leech , adaptation (eye) , nervous system , neuroscience , central nervous system , biology , chemistry , computer science , world wide web
The lipid composition of the nervous system of the leech Hirudo medicinalis was investigated following acclimatization of animals at 25°C and 5°C. Choline, ethanolamine, and serine plus inositol phosphoglycerides are the major phospholipid classes of the leech ganglionic chain; minor amounts of lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidic acid, and sphingomyelin are also present. Neither the phospholipid pattern nor the cholesterol to total phospholipid molar ratio was dependent on the acclimatization temperature, whereas the fatty acid patterns of choline and serine plus inositol phosphoglycerides were significantly affected. Both for choline and serine plus inositol phosphoglycerides, a significant increase of the unsaturation index and a decrease of saturated to unsaturated fatty acid ratio was observed in animals acclimatized at 5°C in comparison with those acclimatized at 25°C. These observations, which point to increased lipid fluidity of the nervous system of cold‐adapted leeches, are strengthened by results obtained by the fluorescence polarization method using 1,6‐diphenyl‐1,3,5‐hexatriene as a probe: a decrease of the fluorescence polarization value was observed throughout the temperature range selected (5–40°C).