Changes in macrophage morphology in a Gaucher disease model are dependent on CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase alpha.

We have recently shown that phosphatidylcholine (PC) metabolism is altered in a macrophage model of Gaucher disease. We now demonstrate that treatment of macrophages with conduritol-B-epoxide (CBE), a glucocerebrosidase inhibitor, results in elevated activity of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT), the rate-limiting enzyme in the pathway of PC biosynthesis. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a role for CCT in Gaucher macrophage growth by using macrophages derived from a genetically modified mouse which lacks a specific CCT isoform, CCTalpha, in macrophages. Upon CBE-treatment, macrophage size, analyzed by microscopy and by FACS, was significantly increased in macrophages from control mice, but did not increase, or increased to a much lower extent, in CCTalpha-/- macrophages. Together, these results suggest that the increase in PC biosynthesis is mediated via CCTalpha, and suggests a possible role for macrophage CCTalpha in Gaucher disease pathology.