Mutations disrupting the Kennedy phosphatidylcholine pathway in humans with congenital lipodystrophy and fatty liver disease.

ABSTRACT: Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is the major glycerophospholipid in eukaryotic cells and is an essential component in all cellular membranes. The biochemistry of de novo PC synthesis by the Kennedy pathway is well established, but less is known about the physiological functions of PC. We identified two unrelated patients with defects in the Kennedy pathway due to biallellic loss-of-function mutations in phosphate cytidylyltransferase 1 alpha (PCYT1A), the rate-limiting enzyme in this pathway. The mutations lead to a marked reduction in PCYT1A expression and PC synthesis. The phenotypic consequences include some features, such as severe fatty liver and low HDL cholesterol levels, that are predicted by the results of previously reported liver-specific deletion of murine Pcyt1a. Both patients also h

SUBMITTER: Payne F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4066527 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature