CHAPTER
5
Distribution of Phospholipids
JOHN C. DITTMER
Biochemistry Department,
Agricultural Research Council, Institute of
Animal Physiology, Bahraham, Cambridge,
England
I. Introduction
231
II. Structure of the Glycerophosphatides
232
III. Structure of the Sphingophosphatides
235
IV. The Distribution of Phospholipids in Animal Tissues
....
237
A. Brain and Other Nervous Tissues
237
B. Muscle
244
C. Blood
246
D. Liver
250
E. Eggs
251
F. Other Vertebrate Tissues
252
G. Phospholipids of Invertebrates
254
V. The Distribution of Phospholipids in Plants
254
A. Seeds
254
B. Vegetative Tissues
255
C. Fungi
256
VI. The Phospholipids of Bacteria
257
References
259
I. Introduction
The phospholipids form a rather heterogeneous group of compounds
which have been classed together principally on the basis of solubility.
Except for this similarity in solubility and the fact that many of them
contain structural units besides phosphorus which are the same or
similar, there is little reason why they should be considered collectively.
Very little is known of their metabolic functions, and nothing of what is
known suggests that the individual phospholipids bear any relationship
to one another in this respect. It does seem significant, however, that as
a class of compounds, the phospholipids have been found in every
cellular organism which has been examined for them and are probably
a constituent of every living cell. Yet, the distribution of any given type
of phospholipid varies not only from species to species, but also from
one tissue to another in the same organism. What significance can be
placed on this disparity of distribution is not clear, but it does suggest
231