Palmitic acid (16:0) is activated by an acyl-CoA synthetase and esterified to glycerol-3-phosphate to produce 16:0-LPA. Addition of a second 16:0-CoA produces di-16:0-PA, which is a precursor for the formation of PG and cardiolipin. The di-16:0-PA can also be hydrolyzed to form a DAG which is a precursor for the synthesis of triacylglycerol; however, 16:0-CoA is a poor substrate for DGAT and di-16:0-phosphatidylglycerol is a poor substrate for cardiolipin synthase (gray bars).
ACBP, acyl-CoA binding protein; BSA, bovine serum albumin; CDP, cytidine diphosphate; CLS, cardiolipin synthase; DAG, diacylglycerol; DGAT, diacylglycerol acyltransferase; G3P, glycerol-3-phosphate; FABP, fatty acid binding protein; LPA, lysophosphatidic acid; PA, phosphatidic acid; PG, phosphatidylglycerol; PI, phosphatidylinositol; TAG, triacylglycerol