Dolichol deposition in developing mammalian brain: content of free and fatty-acylated dolichol and proportion of specific isoprenologues.
Dolichol serves a critical role in N-linked glycoprotein synthesis as the carrier of saccharide moieties. In this study the deposition of dolichol was investigated in developing rat brain. The contents of both the free and fatty-acylated forms of dolichol as well as the specific isoprenologues of dolichol were determined. Two distinctive phases of rapid dolichol deposition were observed; the first during brain development, and the second, with aging. The predominant form of brain dolichol was shown to be the free derivative at all ages; however, during the two phases of rapid deposition of total dolichol, fatty-acylated dolichol became detectable and increased transiently. The rapid rate of increase of brain dolichol during development occurred later than that of brain cholesterol, which shares a common biosynthetic pathway with dolichol. Thus, the peak rate of increase of dolichol occurred at 25 days postnatal, and of cholesterol, at 18 days postnatal. A distinct ontogenetic alteration in the proportion of the individual molecular species (isoprenologues) of dolichol also was defined. These observations suggest that dolichol is particularly involved in developmental events of the third to sixth postnatal weeks in rat brain, e.g. myelination and synaptogenesis.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004286:Dolichols / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D004224:Diterpenes; D004286:Dolichols; D005227:Fatty Acids; D002784:Cholesterol