POLYUNSATURATED PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN MEMBRANE FUNCTION

神经元膜含有非常高浓度的特殊磷酸甘油酯，这是大多数其他细胞中没有的。这些磷酸甘油酯含有酯化的“omega 3”不饱和脂肪酸，具有6个顺式双键。磷酸甘油酯可能有一种特殊的功能，但该功能尚未确定。它们还可能导致阿尔茨海默氏症等疾病，因为它们特别容易被氧化。我们一直在探索这样一种可能性，即磷酸甘油酯可能具有有效的电信号所需的不寻常的堆积特性。几年前在我们实验室进行的分子模拟研究提出了磷酸甘油酯可能相互作用形成规则的、紧密堆积的阵列的可能性。然而，支持这一可能性的直接实物证据仍然缺乏。类似的磷酸甘油酯在商业上是买不到的，所以我们不得不从天然组织中分离出它们。这是一个非常耗时的过程，但我们已经获得了与我们的模型预测的那种紧密分子堆积排列相一致的有希望的结果。当我们的研究完成后，应该会增加我们对神经元传导的分子基础的理解。

The membranes of neurons contain very high concentrations of special phosphoglycerides that are not found in most other cells. These phosphoglycerides contain esterified "omega 3" unsaturated fatty acids that have 6 cis double bonds. The phosphoglycerides probably have a special function, but that function has yet to be defined. They also may contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer's because they are unusually susceptible to oxidation. We have been exploring the possibility that the phosphoglycerides may have unusual packing properties which are required for effective electrical signaling. Molecular modeling studies, done several years ago in our laboratory, raised the possibility that the phosphoglycerides may interact to form regular, tightly packed arrays. However, direct physical evidence in support of this possibility is still lacking. Comparable phosphoglycerides are not commercially available, so we have had to isolate them from native tissues. This has been a very time-consuming process, but we have obtained promising results that are consistent with the kind of tight molecular packing arrangements that were predicted by our models. When completed, our study should increase our understanding of the molecular basis of neuronal conduction.