The present volume contains all the contributions and general discussion presented at the International Satellite Meeting on Func­ tion and Metabolism of Phospholipids in Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems held at Cortona, Tuscany, Italy in August 1975. The Satellite Meeting was organized on the frame of the 5th Inter­ national Congress of the International Society for Neurochemistry (Barcelona, 2-7 september 1975) and was just run before it. The publication of the scientific content of this volume has been made possible by the collaboration of the speakers, the discussants, the Meeting Chairman, the section chairmen and of all the scientists who have taken part at the Symposium and who deeply and actively discussed the lectures and the contributions to the General Discus­ sion which were delivered. In order to obtain rapid publication of the volume, however, the single discussions for each delivered contribution will not be reported here. The general subject of membrane structure, of the turnover of its lipid components in CNS and PNS, their functional implica­ tions and pharmacological actions, was explored in details from the stand-points of the various contributors in biophysics, biochem­ istry, physiology, cytology, pharmacology and pathology. The whole Symposium was effiCiently introduced and closed by Dr. W. Stoffel. The meeting has been thought to have been very successful.

Inhalt

Structueal Requirements for Phospholipid in Biological Membranes.- Significance of Minor Glycerolipids in Membrane Structure and Function.- Effect of Phospholipase-C on the Structure and Function of Mitochondria and Sonic Fragments.- Contribution of Phospholipids to the Surface Charge of Neuronal Membranes.- Metabolism and Turnover of Phospholipids in Nervous Tissue.- Cytidine Diphosphate Diglyceride of Bovine Brain and Liver: Isolation and Characterization.- Synthesis and Turnover of Brain Phosphoglycerides-Results, Methods of Calculation and Interpretation.- Metabolic Studies on 1-Alkyl- and 1-Alk-l?-Enyl- Glycero-phosphatides in the Brain.- The Contribution of Net Synthesis and Base-Exchange Reaction in Phospholipid Biosynthesis.- Regulatory Aspects of Phospholipid Metabolism in Brain.- Renewal of Phospholipids in the Myelin Sheath.- Studies on Phospholipid Metabolism in Cultured Dissociated Brain Cells.- The. Turnover of Choline and Ethanolamine Plasmalogens in Glial and Neuronal Cells of the Rabbit in vivo.- Phospho- and Glycosphingolipid Metabolism in a Rat Neurinoma Clone (RN6) Studied in Tissue Culture.- De Novo Glycerolipid Biosynthesis in the Toad and Cattle Retina. Redirecting of the Pathway by Propranolol and Phentolamine.- Accumulation and Metabolism of Phosphatidyl-CMP (CDP-Diglyceride) in the Pineal Gland of the Rat.- Aspects of Phospholipid Function in the Nervous System.- The Role of Choline Kinase in the Brain.- Functional Roles of Phospholipids of Synaptosomal Membrane.- Phospholipid Metabolism in Electrically Stimulated Synaptosomes.- The Effects of Neurotransmitters and Cyclic Nucleotides on the Metabolism of Phospholipids in Synaptic Membranes of Brain.- Effects of Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacological Agents on Phospholipid Metabolism in the Rabbit Iris Muscle.- Phosphatidylinositol Metabolism and Myoinositol 1, 2-Cyclic Phosphate Action in Smooth Muscle.- Phospholipids and the Gaba Receptor.- Pharmacological Actions of Phospholipids on the Nervous System.- Effect of Polar Lipids on Cerebral Content of Free Glucose in Mice.- Investigations into the Relationship between Phospholipids and Brain Acetyl choline.- Phospholipid-Induced Modifications in the Brain of Animals Fed with Cholesterol-Supplemented Diet.- Possible Role of BC-PL in Enhancing 32Pi Incorporation into Mice Brain Phospholipids.- Phospholipid in Brain Damage.- Free Arachidonic Acid and Other Lipids in the Nervous System during Early Ischemia and after Electroshock.- Dietary Induced Modifications of Brain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Changes of Free Arachidonic Acid Release during Ischaemia.- Possible Effects of Serum Transferases on Brain Phospholipid Metabolism.- Modifications of Glycerol Phosphoglyceride Metabolism in Cell Storage Phenomena.- Phospholipid Metabolism in Murine Muscular Dystrophy.- Participants.