Abstract
Summary
The biosynthesis of phospho-lipids and neutral lipids in normal and monkey kidney cells infected with lympho-granuloma venereum were compared using 14C-acetate and 14C-serine in pulse-chase experiments. Synthesis of phospholipids and neutral glycerolipids were inhibited in infected cells. Phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) synthesis increased while phosphatidyl cho-line, phosphatidyl serine and cardiolipin synthesis decreased in infected cells within 36 hr after infection. Sphingomyelin synthesis decreased after 48 hr of infection. The synthesis of PE in the infected cell followed a similar pathway found in bacteria and could be distinguished from the normal host cell. An explanation of the parasitic nature of chlamydial infection based on the requirement for lipid precursors has been proposed.
This investigation was supported by a Public Health Service research Grant No. HL08214 from the Program Projects Branch Extramural Programs, National Heart and Lung Institute, the World Health Organization and the Hormel Foundation.
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