Transport and phosphorylation of choline in mammalian tissues.

More than hundred years have elapsed and many investigations have been made since choline was first obtained from pig's bile (Strecker 1849) and was named and appeared in chemical literature (Strecker 1862). But its mechanism of action as a dietary factor and its physiological significance 1s still attracting attention from pharmacologists, physiologists and biochemists. Choline has several known metabolic fates. As free choline in nerve tissue, it is a precursor of acetylcholine (Korkes et al 1952). As phosphorylcholine, it acts as a precursor for phospholipid synthesis (Kennedy 1956). As betaine, it is a methyl group donor (Dubnoff 1949). [...