Phosphatidylethanolamine deficiency in mammalian cells

• Author / Creator

  Bai, Helin Daniel

• Almost all mammalian cells contain energy-producing organelles called mitochondria. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is a phospholipid which has been implicated to be important for mitochondrial function. The majority of mitochondrial PE is synthesized in mitochondria using the phosphatidylserine decarboxylase (PSD) pathway. To test the hypothesis that PE made from the PSD pathway is required for mitochondrial function, three Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell lines with different PSD-pathway defects were studied. These three cell lines referred to as PSB-2, R-41, and PSD knockdown cells all had ~35% reductions in mitochondrial PE levels compared to the parental cell line. As a result, the mitochondria from all three cell lines have abnormally high sedimentation densities and increased membrane potentials. However, the energy production, motility, and morphologies of each type of mutant mitochondria were each distinctly different from their parental cell line.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase
  • Phosphatidylethanolamine
  • Phosphatidylserine
  • Mitochondria
  • Chinese Hamster Ovary

• Graduation date

  Fall 2010

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3Z042

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.