Phosphocholine is an intermediate in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine in tissues. Phosphocholine is made in a reaction, catalyzed by choline kinase, that converts ATP and choline into phosphocholine and ADP. Phosphocholine is a molecule found, for example, in lecithin.
It is also one of the binding targets of C-reactive protein (CRP).[3] Thus, when a cell is damaged, CRP binds to phosphocholine, beginning the recognition and phagocytotic immunologic response.
Phosphocholine is a natural constituent of hens' eggs (and many other eggs) often used in biomimetic membrane studies.[4][5]
^Rose L, Jenkins AT (2006). "The effect of the ionophore valinomycin on biomimetic solid supported lipid DPPTE/EPC membranes". Bioelectrochemistry. 70 (2): 387–93. doi:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2006.05.009. PMID16875886.
^Pambou, Elias; Crewe, John; Yaseen, Mohammed; Padia, Faheem N.; Rogers, Sarah; Wang, Dong; Xu, Hai; Lu, Jian R. (2015-09-15). "Structural Features of Micelles of Zwitterionic Dodecyl-phosphocholine (C12PC) Surfactants Studied by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering". Langmuir. 31 (36): 9781–9789. doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02077. ISSN0743-7463. PMID26301341.