Research

 

Scientists from IQFR and the Univ de Murcia publish in Science the discovery of the human enzyme for the synthesis of plasmalogens, lipids linked to cancer and Alzheimer's disease

Lipids are crucial cellular building blocks in all living organisms and carry out many essential functions. Chemically they are enormously diverse, and the composition of different lipids varies vastly among species, tissues, or cellular organelles. Plasmalogens are a specific type of phospholipids found in animals but not in plants, fungi or most bacteria. They are especially abundant in organs like brain and heart, but their functions remain enigmatic. Many disorders, including cancer or Alzheimer´s disease, correlate with abnormal levels or absence of these lipids. But thus far a key enzyme required for plasmalogen synthesis has escaped identification.

In a study reported in Science, members of the research group led by Montserrat Elías Arnanz at the University of Murcia (and an IQFR-CSIC Associated Unit) together with S. Padmanabhan (Group RMN-Prot, IQFR) from have discovered the identity of the human enzyme that remained to be unmasked in plasmalogen biosynthesis. They achieved this in an unusual manner: by studying how a soil bacterium called Myxococcus xanthus responds to light. The crucial enzyme was identified in this bacterium, and similar proteins in animals ranging from worms to humans were shown to have the same function. The study also showed plasmalogens as critical for the bacterium to be able to detect oxidative stress produced by light and to safeguard itself by producing carotenoids, a type of protective pigments.

The results have implications for understanding the roles of plasmalogens in various human pathologies, and also in signaling photooxidative stress.

Article:

Aránzazu Gallego-García, Antonio J. Monera-Girona, Elena Pajares-Martínez, Eva Bastida-Martínez, Ricardo Pérez-Castaño, Antonio A. Iniesta, Marta Fontes, S. Padmanabhan y Montserrat Elías-Arnanz "A bacterial light response reveals an orphan desaturase for human plasmalogen synthesis" Science. Vol. 366, Issue 6461, pp. 128-132, DOI: 10.1126/science.aay1436 (October 4, 2019)

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