Catabolism of myo‐Inositol to Precursors Utilized for De Novo Glycerolipid Biosynthesis

Systemic injection of [2‐³H]myo‐inositol into frogs resulted in the incorporation of more than half of the label into glycerolipid classes other than phosphoinositides in retinal rod outer segment membranes. Following methanolysis and differential extraction of isolated lipid classes, radioactivity was recovered primarily in the aqueous phase. After phospholipase C hydrolysis of the total membrane lipids, 97% of the radioactivity was extractable with organic solvents, and 70% of the label in lipids was in 1,2‐diglycerides. These results indicate that the label was incorporated primarily into the glyceryl moiety of the membrane glycerolipids. Intraocular injection of frog eyes or in vitro incubation of frog retinas with [2‐³H]myo‐inositol resulted in the incorporation of radioactivity almost exclusively into phosphoinositides in rod outer segment membranes. Incubation of retinas with [U‐¹⁴C]glucuronic acid did not result in the formation of labeled retinal lipids. These results suggest that myo‐inositol can be catabolized systemically to precursors utilized for glycerolipid biosynthesis in the retina.