Cerebral Phospholipids in ‘Quaking’ Mice

The brain of the adult ‘quaking’ mutant mouse is characterized by a reduced phospholipid content which can be ascribed not only to the myelin deficiency but also to a well‐defined hydrocephalus. The mutant brain shows highly significant decreases in the percentage of ethanolamine plasmalogen, triphosphoinositide and phosphatidic acid in the whole phospholipid fraction, while the proportions of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyl‐ethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol increase. The changes are consistent with the selective absence of ‘myelinic’ phospholipid although phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin and diphosphoinositide are unchanged.