Prostaglandins are known to play a central role in the initiation of labor in humans, and amnionic cells constitute a major source of these compounds. Prostaglandin synthesis and release by amnion cells in response to hormones and ligands takes place after a characteristic 4-5 h lag. However, we report herein that free arachidonic acid (AA), the metabolic precursor of prostaglandins, can be ind...

Bio-based production of fatty acids and fatty acid-derived products can enable sustainable substitution of petroleum-derived fuels and chemicals. However, developing new microbial cell factories for producing high levels of fatty acids requires extensive engineering of lipid metabolism, a complex and tightly regulated metabolic network. Here we generated a Saccharomyces cerevisiae platform stra...

Studies on the effects of garlic (Allium sativum) on hyperlipidemia have demonstrated somewhat controversial results and there have been few studies on its enzymatic mechanism. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of garlic on the liver phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (PAP) activity, plasma lipid levels, malondialdehyde (MDA) and plasma antioxidant in rats fed either by normal or h...

The aim of the paper was to study the effect of carbisocaine, a new local anesthetic with high liposolubility on incorporation of 32P into individual and total phospholipids and to compare its effect with that of other local anesthetics (procaine, lidocaine, cinchocaine, heptacaine). Carbisocaine decreased 32P incorporation into neutral phospholipids and increased the incorporation into acid ph...

Recessive mutations in LPIN1, which encodes a phosphatidate phosphatase enzyme, are a frequent cause of severe rhabdomyolysis in childhood. Hence, we sequenced the 19 coding exons of the gene in eight patients with recurrent hereditary myoglobinuria from four unrelated families in Jordan. The long-term goal is to facilitate molecular genetic diagnosis without the need for invasive procedures su...

Our lab is focused on the study of a family of proteins known as lipins that exhibit phosphatidic acid phosphatase activity, and the role they play in macrophages. Up to date 5 proteins have been described that are encoded by three different genes. The lpin1 gene may undergo alternative splicing. generating lipin1α, β and γ isoforms. Lipin1γ is present only in humans. These proteins have a very...

We examined the effects of K+ and angiotensin II, the major regulators of aldosterone secretion, on phospholipid metabolism during incubation of glomerulosa-rich, adrenal capsules. Addition of increasing amounts of K+ and angiotensin II to the incubation media elicited progressive increases in corticosterone production and capsular concentrations of phosphatidic acid, phosphatidyl-inositol, and...

Triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis and storage in tissues such as adipose tissue and liver have important roles in metabolic homeostasis. The molecular identification of genes encoding enzymes that catalyze steps in TAG biosynthesis from glycerol 3-phosphate has revealed an unexpected number of protein isoforms of the glycerol phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), acylglycerolphosphate acyltransferase...