| Description | Glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC) is a choline derivative and one of the two major forms of choline storage (along with phosphocholine) in the cytosol. Glycerophosphorylcholine is also one of the four major organic osmolytes in renal medullary cells, changing their intracellular osmolyte concentration in parallel with extracellular tonicity during cellular osmoadaptation. As an osmolyte, Glycerophosphorylcholine counteracts the effects of urea on enzymes and other macromolecules. Kidneys (especially medullar cells), which are exposed under normal physiological conditions to widely fluctuating extracellular solute concentrations, respond to hypertonic stress by accumulating the organic osmolytes glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC), betaine, myo-inositol, sorbitol and free amino acids. Increased intracellular contents of these osmolytes are achieved by a combination of increased uptake (myo-inositol and betaine) and synthesis (sorbitol, GPC), decreased degradation (GPC) and reduced osmolyte release. GPC is formed in the breakdown of phosphatidylcholine (PtC). This pathway is active in many body tissues, including mammary tissue. |
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