Chemical synthesis of some lecithin analogues potential inhibitors of phospholipase A

Abstract

The chemical synthesis of a number of lecithin analogues is described. These compounds were prepared to study inhibitory properties in the enzymatic hydrolysis of normal lecithins by porcine pancreatic phospholipase A. The structures of the synthesized products resemble very much those of the normal lecithins, but differ in most cases in that part of the molecule which is supposed to be important either for the binding with phospholipase A or for the catalytic reaction. The synthesized compounds include stereo- and structural isomers of the normal lecithins (= substrates for phospholipase A) and lecithins modified in the alkyl chain, the ester bond, the glycerol backbone, and the phosphate moiety.