Journal of Lipid Research, Vol 32, 1795-1803, Copyright © 1991 by Lipid Research, Inc.
Production of platelet-activating factor in slugs
T Sugiura, T Ojima, T Fukuda, K Satouchi, K Saito and K Waku
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Kanagawa, Japan.
The land slug, Incilaria bilineata, was shown to contain a large amount of
1-O-alkyl-2-acyl (long chain)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, which accounts
for as much as 47% of the choline glycerophospholipid fraction. Since this
unique either phospholipid has been regarded as a stored precursor form of
platelet-activating factor (PAF) in mammalian inflammatory cells, we
examined the possibility of the presence of PAF in this animal. We obtained
the evidence for the occurrence of significant amounts of PAF in two
species of slugs, Incilaria bilineta and Incilaria fruhstorferi. Gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the alkyl fatty
chain of PAF principally consists of 16:0. We confirmed the presence of
both enzyme activities catalyzing the formation of PAF, one for the
remodeling pathway and the other for the de novo pathway. We also found the
occurrence of other enzyme activities involved in PAF metabolism:
acetylhydrolase activity which inactivates PAF and phospholipase A2
activity toward alkylacylglycerophosphocholine. However, we failed to
detect cofactor- independent transacylation activity in this animal. The
amounts of PAF in slugs were markedly increased when slugs were
administered several treatments which are considered to induce shock, such
as the injection of dimethyl sulfoxide or injuries. These results suggest
that PAF is produced and may have certain physiological and pathological
roles in the land slug, as in the case of mammals.
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