The phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) phosphates represent a small percentage of total membrane phospholipids. However, they play a critical role in the generation and transmission of cellular signals.
1,2 PtdIns-
(1,2-
dioctanoyl) is a synthetic analog of natural phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) containing C8:0 fatty acids at the
sn-
1 and
sn-
2 positions. The compound features the same inositol and diacyl glycerol (DAG) stereochemistry as that of the natural compound. The short fatty acid chains of this analog, compared to naturally-
occurring PtdIns, gives it different physical properties including high solubility in aqueous media. PtdIns are phosphorylated to mono-
(PtdIns-
P; PIP), di-
(PtdIns-
P
2; PIP
2), and triphosphates (PtdIns-
P
3; PIP
3). Hydrolysis of PtdIns-
(4,5)-
P
2 by phosphoinositide (PI)-
specific phospholipase C generates inositol triphosphate (IP
3) and DAG which are key second messengers in an intricate biochemical signal transduction cascade.
