POSPHOLIPID

Phospholipids are a class of lipids and are a major component of all cell membranes.
Most phospholipids contain a diglyceride, a phosphate group, and a simple organic
molecule such as choline; one exception to this rule is sphingomyelin, which is derived
from sphingosine instead of glycerol. They are a type of molecule. They form a lipid
bilayer within a cell membrane.

Amphipathic character
The 'head' of a phospholipid is hydrophilic (attracted to water) whereas the hydrophobic
'tails' repel water. The hydrophillic head contains the negatively charged phosphate
group, and may contain other polar groups. The hydrophobic tail usually consists of long
fatty acid hydrocarbon chains. When placed in water, phospholipids form a variety of
structures depending on the specific properties of the phospholipid. These specific
properties allow phospholipids to play an important role in the phospholipid bilayer. In
biological systems, the phospholipids often occur with other molecules (e.g., proteins,
glycolipids, cholesterol) in a bilayer such as a cell membrane.[1] Lipid bilayers occur
when hydrophobic tails line up against one another, forming a membrane with
hydrophilic heads on both sides facing the water.

This membrane is partially permeable, capable of elastic movement, and has fluid
properties, in which embedded proteins (integral or peripheral proteins) and phospholipid
molecules are able to move laterally. Such movement can be described by the Fluid
Mosaic Model, that describes the membrane as a mosaic of lipid molecules that act as a
solvent for all the substances and proteins within it, so proteins and lipid molecules are
then free to diffuse laterally through the lipid matrix and migrate over the membrane.
Cholesterol contributes to membrane fluidity by hindering the packing together of
phospholipids. However, this model has now been superseded, as through the st of lipid
polymorphism it is now known that the behaviour of lipids under physiological (and
other) conditions is not simple.

Also, the hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends allow the phospholipids to transfer and be
associated with water. It is able to be resistant and associate with it at the same time. This
happens because only one end of the molecule is soluble in water. Thus phospholipids act
as an emulsifier enabling oils to disolve freely in water. Phospholipids called lecithin are
extracted out of cooking oil and then used as food additives in many things such as bread
and can also be purchased separately in a health food store.

Phospholipid synthesis
Phospholipid synthesis occurs in the cytosol adjacent to ER membrane that is studded
with proteins that act in synthesis (GPAT and LPAAT acyl transferases, phosphatase and
choline phosphotransferase) and allocation (flippase and floppase). Eventually a vesicle
will bud off from the ER containing phospholipids destined for the cytoplasmic cellular
membrane on its exterior leaflet and phospholipids destined for the exoplasmic cellular
membrane on its inner leaflet.[2]

In signal transduction
Some types of phospholipid can be split to produce products that function as second
messengers in signal transduction. Examples include phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-
bisphosphate (PIP2), that can be split into inositol triphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol
(DAG), which both carry out the functions of the Gq type of G protein in response to
various stimuli.