Platelet-activating factor is a phospholipid with diverse potent physiological effects. Its actions are achieved at concentrations as low as IO-‘” M in some systems and almost always by lo-’ M as an intercellular messenger. The molecular structure of PAF was discovered through parallel investigations of two different biological activities: a factor in the blood of rabbits undergoing anaphylaxis...

The AlkB enzyme is an Fe(II)- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that repairs DNA alkyl lesions by a direct reversal of damage mechanism as part of the adaptive response in E. coli. The reported substrate scope of AlkB includes simple DNA alkyl adducts, such as 1-methyladenine, 3-methylcytosine, 3-ethylcytosine, 1-methylguanine, 3-methylthymine, and N(6)-methyladenine, as well as more co...

A series of phosphoglycerides containing the same structural unit, 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol, was prepared with the following polar head groups: -3-phosphoric acid (AGEPA), -3-phosphorylethanol (AGEPEt), -3-phosphorylethanolamine (AGEPE), -3-phosphoryl-N-monomethylethanolamine (AGEPMME), -3-phosphoryl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine (AGEPDME), and -3-phosphorylcholine (AGEPC). These compounds wer...

Treatment of sialoglycopeptides derived from bovine milk-fat-globule membrane with alkaline borohydride released a reduced oligosaccharide fraction from which a tetrasaccharide and two trisaccharides were isolated. Periodate-oxidation studies coupled with methylation analysis and g.l.c.-mass spectrometry established their structures as: N-acetylneuraminyl-(2 leads to 3)-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-...

1-O-hexadecyl-2-acetyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphorylcholine (platelet activating factor, PAF), (1.9 mumol) was prepared from the total lipid extract of the protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis 9 x 10(7) cells. The procedure involved mild alkaline hydrolysis of the total lipids, followed by acetylation and purification of the product by preparative TLC and HPLC. The yield was 60% with respect to the cont...