Phosphocholine and phosphoethanolamine during chick embryo myogenesis: a 31P-NMR study

Abstract Elevated contents of phosphoethanolamine (Etn-P) and/or phosphocholine (Cho-P), a common feature of most tumours with respect to normal counterparts, may also occur in non-cancerous proliferating tissues. The significance of these alterations in relation to cell proliferation, differentiation and maturation is scarcely understood. In this work, the Cho-P and Etn-P pools were measured by 31 P-NMR in extracts of chick embryo pectoral muscle at different days of development. The average concentration of these metabolites exhibited the highest values (respectively, 1.5 and 3.0 μmol/mg DNA) on days 9–11 and decreased at later stages of myogenesis. While, however, Cho-P maintained substantial levels (above 1.0 μmol/mg DNA) also during myotube formation (days 11–18) and stepwise decreased (to about 0.5 μmol/mg DNA) upon fibres’ maturation, Etn-P gradually decreased between day 11 and hatching time (down to about 0.2 μmol/mg DNA). These results demonstrate that significant changes may occur in the steady-state pools of these metabolites during normal in vivo cellular development and differentiation, and are consistent with: (a) high rates of phospholipid biosynthesis reported in the literature for proliferating myoblasts; (b) sustained phosphatidylcholine synthesis maintained also during myoblast fusion; and (c) decreased requirement of phospholipid synthesis in the last phase of in ovo myofibre maturation.