Molecular Species of Phospholipid in Rat Hepatomas and in Fetal, Regenerating, and Adult Rat Livers1

The molecular species of phospholipid in rat hepatomas were found to be different from those in normal adult liver. Phosphatidylcholine in Yoshida hepatoma contained phosphatidylcholine with 34:1 as the sums of the chain length and of the unsaturation of fatty acids esterified at C-1 and C-2 of glycerol, as an example (PC34:i), PC36:2,PC36:i, PCa4:2,and PCae*, and its phosphatidylethanolamine contained PEae*, PEx*, PEaa*, PEae.3,and PE34:i as major species, whereas phosphatidylcholine in normal adult liver contained PCas*. PCae*, PC^, PC36:4,and PC^i, and its phosphatidylethanolamine (PF.) contained PEas*, PEas*, PE^e, PE36:4,and PEae*. with their level decreasing in that order. While Morris hepatoma also had significantly lower amounts of species containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, there were higher levels of those phosphoglycerides containing monoenoic and dienoic fatty acids. Regenerating liver showed similar patterns of molec ular species of both phospholipids to those of normal liver. In contrast, fetal liver had similar molecular species of phosphati dylcholine to those of hepatomas, but had similar species of phosphatidylethanolamine to those of normal and regenerating livers.