Description | Dioleoylphosphatidic acid is an anionic phosphatidic acid (PA). PAs are biologically active lipids that can stimulate a large range of responses in many different cell types, such as platelet aggregation, smooth muscle contraction, in vivo vasoactive effects, chemotaxis, expression of adhesion molecules, increased tight junction permeability of endothelial cells, induction of stress fibres, modulation of cardiac contractility, and many others.
Diacylglycerols (DAGs) can be converted to PAs by DAG kinases and indirect evidence supports the notion that PAs alter the excitability of neurons. Phospholipase Ds (PLDs), which catalyze the conversion of glycerolphospholipids, particularly phosphatidylcholine, to PAs and the conversion of N-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE) to anandamide and PAs are activated by several inflammatory mediators including bradykinin, ATP and glutamate. PAs activate downstream signaling pathways such as PKCs and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), which are linked to an increase in sensitivity of sensory neurons either during inflammation or in chronic pain models. Circumstantial evidence that PAs are converted to DAGs and the evidence discussed below that LPAs sensitize sensory neurons provide compelling reasons for further work to ascertain the role of the activation of PLDs and PAs in peripheral sensitization. (PMID: 12618218, 16185776) |