Localisation of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein in the brain and other tissues of the rat

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP is a highly-conserved 21- to 23-kDa basic protein that shows preferential affinity in vitro for phosphatidylethanolamine. Previous studies have focussed on PEEP in the brain and male reproductive tract where it has been proposed to play a role in membrane biogenesis. In the present more comprehensive study, rat PEEP transcripts and protein have been found to be expressed in all tissues examined, although the levels vary considerably between tissues. However, at the cellular level, PEEP expression is enigmatic, being restricted to a diverse range of highly specialised neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. The nature of this diversity, ranging from oligodendrocytes to plasma cells, whilst not precluding a role for PEEP in membrane biogenesis in some cell types, would imply that this is not the major function in others.