Molecules 2010, 15, 1354-1377; doi:10.3390/molecules15031354 OPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules Review Synthesis of Lysophospholipids Paola D’Arrigo 1,2,* and Stefano Servi 1,2 1 Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali ed Ingegneria Chimica “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7, 20131 Milano, Italy 2 Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca in Biotecnologie Proteiche "The Protein Factory", Politecnico di Milano and Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via Mancinelli 7, 20131 Milano, Italy * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: paola.d’
[email protected]. Received: 17 February 2010; in revised form: 4 March 2010 / Accepted: 5 March 2010 / Published: 8 March 2010 Abstract: New synthetic methods for the preparation of biologically active phospholipids and lysophospholipids (LPLs) are very important in solving problems of membrane–chemistry and biochemistry. Traditionally considered just as second-messenger molecules regulating intracellular signalling pathways, LPLs have recently shown to be involved in many physiological and pathological processes such as inflammation, reproduction, angiogenesis, tumorogenesis, atherosclerosis and nervous system regulation. Elucidation of the mechanistic details involved in the enzymological, cell-biological and membrane-biophysical roles of LPLs relies obviously on the availability of structurally diverse compounds. A variety of chemical and enzymatic routes have been reported in the literature for the synthesis of LPLs: the enzymatic transformation of natural glycerophospholipids (GPLs) using regiospecific enzymes such as phospholipases A1 (PLA1), A2 (PLA2) phospholipase D (PLD) and different lipases, the coupling of enzymatic processes with chemical transformations, the complete chemical synthesis of LPLs starting from glycerol or derivatives. In this review, chemo- enzymatic procedures leading to 1- and 2-LPLs will be described.