From yeast to humans roles of the Kennedy pathway for phosphatidylcholine synthesis
The major phospholipid present in most eukaryotic membranes is phosphatidylcholine (PC) comprising 50% of phospholipid content. PC metabolic pathways are highly conserved from yeast to humans. The main pathway for the synthesis of PC is the Kennedy (CDP choline) pathway. In this pathway, choline is converted to phosphocholine by choline kinase, phosphocholine is metabolized to CDP choline by the rate determining enzyme for this pathway, CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase, and cholinephosphotransferase condenses CDP choline with diacylglycerol to produce PC. This Review discusses how PC synthesis via the Kennedy pathway is regulated, its role in cellular and biological processes, as well as diseases known to be associated with defects in PC synthesis. Finally, we present the first model for the making of a membrane via PC synthesis.
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