Characterization of Choline and Ethanolamine Kinase Activities in Plasmodium — Infected Erythrocytes

Mature mammalian erythrocytes lack the enzymatic machinery for synthesizing lipids and there is no net synthesis of major phospholipids (PL). The turnover can be attributed to two main processes: the exchange of PL between plasma lipoproteins and membrane, or the acylation of lyso-phosphatidylcholine, originating from the surrounding plasma and possibly from membrane (1). The synthesis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) by N-methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is of minor importance in supplying the cellular PC requirements, but could play a role in transmitting signals acting via cell surface receptors (2).