Monolysocardiolipin (MLCL) is a

phospholipid Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

with three

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...

chains located in the inner membrane of

mitochondria A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...

. MLCL is normally present as part of the metabolic cycle of mitochondrial

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids in ...

, such as

cardiolipin Cardiolipin (IUPAC name 1,3-bis(''sn''-3’-phosphatidyl)-''sn''-glycerol) is an important component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it constitutes about 20% of the total lipid composition. It can also be found in the membranes of most ...

. It is remodeled by the enzymes monolysocardiolipin acyltransferase, lysocardiolipin acyltransferase, and

tafazzin Tafazzin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TAFAZZIN'' gene. Tafazzin is highly expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle, and functions as a phospholipid- lysophospholipid transacylase (it belongs to phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltr ...

, which transfer a fourth fatty acid chain onto the phospholipid.

References

Phospholipids Membrane biology {{biology-stub