The presence of sn-1-palmitoyl lysophosphatidylinositol monophosphate correlates positively with the fusion-permissive state of the plasma membrane of fusogenic carrot cells grown in suspension culture

Fermented Momordica charantia L. juice modulates hyperglycemia, lipid profile, and gut microbiota in type 2 diabetic rats

The effect of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermentation on the anti-diabetic functionality of Momordica charantia was examined using a high-fat-diet and low-dose streptozocin-induced type 2 diabetic rat model. Fermented Momordica charantia juice (FMCJ) administration mitigated the hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, and oxidative stress in diabetic rats more favorably than the non-fermented counterpart. Treatments with FMCJ improved ergosterols and lysomonomethyl-phosphatidylethanolamines metabolisms more effectively. Supplement of FMCJ regulated the composition of the gut microbiota, such as increased the abundance of Bacteroides caecigallinarum, Oscillibacter ruminantium, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Prevotella loescheii, Prevotella oralis, and Prevotella melaninogenica, in diabetic rats compared with untreated diabetic rats. Moreover, FMCJ-treated diabetic rats exhibited higher concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, total short-chain fatty acids and lower pH values in colonic contents than that in non-fermented juice-treated rats. These results demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum-fermentation enhanced the anti-diabetic property of MC juice by favoring the regulation of gut microbiota and the production of SCFAs.

Phosphoinositide signaling

"All things flow and change…even in the stillest matter there is unseen flux and movement." Attributed to Heraclitus (530-470 BC), from The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, was thinking on a much larger scale than molecular signaling; however, his visionary comments are an important reminder for those studying signaling today. Even in unstimulated cells, signaling pathways are in constant metabolic flux and provide basal signals that travel throughout the organism. In addition, negatively charged phospholipids, such as the polyphosphorylated inositol phospholipids, provide a circuit board of on/off switches for attracting or repelling proteins that define the membranes of the cell. This template of charged phospholipids is sensitive to discrete changes and metabolic fluxes-e.g., in pH and cations-which contribute to the oscillating signals in the cell. The inherent complexities of a constantly fluctuating system make understanding how plants integrate and process signals challenging. In this review we discuss one aspect of lipid signaling: the inositol family of negatively charged phospholipids and their functions as molecular sensors and regulators of metabolic flux in plants.

Phosphorylation of lysophosphatidylinositol by carrot membranes

sn-1 Palmitoyl lysophosphatidylinositol is found in carrot suspension culture cells and can be phosphorylated to [32P]lysophosphatidylinositol monophosphate (LPIP) when [gamma 32P]ATP is added to isolated membranes. Based on in vivo labeling studies, [3H]inositol sn-1 palmitoyl LPIP was found predominantly in the plasma membrane-rich fraction or upper phase isolated by aqueous two-phase partitioning and LPI was found in the intracellular membrane-rich fraction or lower phase (Wheeler and Boss, Plant Physiol. 85, 389-392, 1987). While both membrane fractions phosphorylated LPI in vitro, the apparent Km for LPI in the intracellular membrane fraction was 180 microM and for the plasma membrane was 580 microM. When cells were treated with the ionophore, monensin, the percentage of [3H]inositol LPIP increased in the whole cell lipid extract. However, the monensin treatment decreased the amount of [3H]inositol LPIP and PIP recovered in the plasma membrane fraction relative to the sum of the individual lipid, [3H]inositol LPIP or PIP, respectively, recovered in both membrane fractions.