1,2-Diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine

A slowly metabolized structural phospholipid found mainly in gray matter.

1,2-Diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine or phosphatidylserine (PS) is a structurally diverse acidic phospholipid having fatty acid ester at the glycerol sn positions. Bovine brain cortex based PS is a potent brain nutrient. It favors neurotransmission and may improve memory in dementia. PS is also the major membrane phospholipid associated with the nuclear membrane, myelin, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi and mitochondria. The synthesis of PS is catalyzed by phosphatidylserine synthase 1 from L-serine and CDP-diacylglycerol in the mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) domains of the endoplasmic reticulum. PS is externalized during phagocytosis and is dysregulated in tumors making it a potential marker for therapeutic targeting.

Solutions exposed to room temperature will decompose about 0.5% per day.

1,2-Diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine has been used:

• as a lipid standard in time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) spectral fingerprints
• as a reference standard in thin layer chromatography (TLC) for quantifying lipids from astrocyte-conditioned media (ACM) treated fibroblasts
• as a component of large unilamellar vesicles for annexin A2 aggregation studies

This compound is featured on the Phospholipase D and PKC pages of the Handbook of Receptor Classification and Signal Transduction. To browse other handbook pages, click here.