Food for thought: The molecular basis of nutrient uptake into the brain

• 成果类型: Editorial Material
• 署名作者: Cater, Rosemary J.
• 署名单位: University of Queensland
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10561
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ads1320
• 发表日期: 2024-09-27
• 关键词: choline metabolism

摘要

The brain is our most important and sophisticated organ. To develop this organ-all the way from an embryo to an adult brain, with its hundreds of billions of neurons and glial cells and 400 miles of vasculature-is no small task. Each mammalian cell contains more than one billion phospholipids. More than half of these lipids are phosphatidylcholine. The sheer density of cells in the brain endows it with an immense hunger for this critical cellular component. In 1956, Eugene P. Kennedy discovered that phosphatidylcholine is synthesized de novo through a series of three enzymatic steps, in what is now known as the Kennedy pathway (1). The fatty acid and glycerol moieties of phosphatidylcholine can be synthesized by cells, but the choline head group is a water-soluble molecule that must be obtained from dietary sources (2). Adults are advised to consume 400 to 500 mg of choline per day from choline-rich food sources, such as eggs, fish, and broccoli (2). This number increases to 700 mg for pregnant women, who must support both their own needs and the needs of their growing babies (3).