Functional category : Etherlipid and plasmalogens synthesis

Name : Etherlipid and plasmalogens synthesis
Description : Ether-phospholipids or plasmalogens are a special class of phospholipids characterized by a vinyl ether bond at the sn-1 position of the glycerol backbone. This pathway is widespread in peroxisomal bearing organisms except in plants and fungus. In mammals, usually at sn-1 the fatty acid sterified is a C16:0 (palmitic acid), C18:0 (stearic acid) or C18:1 (oleic acid), at sn-2 is a polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as arachidonic (AA) or docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, and at sn-3 there is an ethanolamine or choline. The first two steps of the synthesis of plasmalogens are exclusively peroxisomal, and the following steps might occur in peroxisomes and endoplasmatic reticulum.
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