Chemistry
PI has a polar and non-polar region, making the lipid an amphiphile. Phosphatidylinositol is classified as a glycerophospholipid that contains a glycerol backbone, two non-polar fatty acid tails, a phosphate group substituted with an inositol polar head group.
The most common fatty acids of phosphoinositides are stearic acid in the SN1 position and arachidonic acid, in the SN2 position. Hydrolysis of phosphoinositides yield one mole of glycerol, two moles of fatty acids, one mole of inositol and one, two, or three moles of phosphoric acids, depending on the number of phosphates on the inositol rings. Phosphoinositides are regarded as the most acidic phospholipid.
The specific fatty acids of PdtIns, and their conformation, employed in the sensory neurons has not be elucidated.
Read more about this topic: Phosphatidylinositol
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