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The lecithin–sphingomyelin ratio is a marker of fetal lung maturity. The outward flow of pulmonary secretions from the fetal lungs into the amniotic fluid maintains the level of lecithin and sphingomyelin equally until 32–33 weeks gestation, when the lecithin concentration begins to increase significantly while sphingomyelin remains nearly the same.
Lecithin contains dietary precursors to choline, an essential nutrient, which was formerly classified as a B vitamin (vitamin B 4). [17] [18] Lecithin is a mixture of fats that contains phospholipids, including phosphatidylcholine, and the human body can convert phosphatidylcholine into choline.
Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (lecithin) is a major component of the pulmonary surfactant, and is often used in the lecithin–sphingomyelin ratio to calculate fetal lung maturity. While phosphatidylcholines are found in all plant and animal cells, they are absent in the membranes of most bacteria, [ 1 ] including Escherichia coli . [ 2 ]
Phosphatidylcholine is the major component of lecithin. It is also a source for choline in the synthesis of acetylcholine in cholinergic neurons. Phospholipids [ 1 ] are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids , joined by an alcohol residue ...
The long-chain bases, sometimes simply known as sphingoid bases, are the first non-transient products of de novo sphingolipid synthesis in both yeast and mammals. These compounds, specifically known as phytosphingosine and dihydrosphingosine (also known as sphinganine, [4] although this term is less common), are mainly C 18 compounds, with somewhat lower levels of C 20 bases. [5]
Sphingomyelin was first isolated by German chemist Johann L.W. Thudicum in the 1880s. [3] The structure of sphingomyelin was first reported in 1927 as N-acyl-sphingosine-1-phosphorylcholine. [3] Sphingomyelin content in mammals ranges from 2 to 15% in most tissues, with higher concentrations found in nerve tissues, red blood cells, and the ...
Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is a phospholipid (and a lecithin) consisting of two C 16 palmitic acid groups attached to a phosphatidylcholine head-group. It is the main constituent of pulmonary surfactants, which reduces the work of breathing and prevents alveolar collapse during breathing.
Phosphocholine is a molecule found, for example, in lecithin. In nematodes and human placentas, phosphocholine is selectively attached to other proteins as a posttranslational modification to suppress an immune response by their hosts. [1] [2] It is also one of the binding targets of C-reactive protein (CRP). [3]