Phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.4, lipophosphodiesterase II, lecithinase D, choline phosphatase, PLD; systematic name phosphatidylcholine phosphatidohydrolase) is an enzyme of the phospholipase superfamily that catalyses the following reaction a phosphatidylcholine + H2O = choline + a phosphatidate Phospholipases occur widely, and can be found in a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, yeast, plants, animals, and viruses. Phospholipase D's principal substrate is phosphatidylcholine, which it hydrolyzes to produce the signal molecule phosphatidic acid (PA), and soluble choline in a cholesterol dependent process called substrate presentation. Plants contain numerous genes that encode various PLD isoenzymes, with molecular weights ranging from 90 to 125 kDa. Mammalian cells encode two isoforms of phospholipase D: PLD1 and PLD2. Phospholipase D is an important player in many physiological processes, including membrane trafficking, cytoskeletal reorganization, receptor-mediated endocytosis, exocytosis, and cell migration. Through these processes, it has been further implicated in the pathophysiology of multiple diseases: in particular the progression of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as various cancers. PLD may also help set the threshold for sensitivity to anesthesia and mechanical force. Discovery PLD-type activity was first reported in 1947 by Donald J. Hanahan and I.L. Chaikoff. It was not until 1975, however, that the hydrolytic mechanism of action was elucidated in mammalian cells. Plant isoforms of PLD were first purified from cabbage and castor bean; PLDα was ultimately cloned and characterized from a variety of plants, including rice, corn, and tomato. Plant PLDs have been cloned in three isoforms: PLDα, PLDβ, and PLDγ. More than half a century of biochemical studies have implicated phospholipase D and PA activity in a wide range of physiological processes and diseases, including inflammation, diabetes, phagocytosis, neuronal & cardiac signaling, and oncogenesis. Function Strictly speaking, phospholipase D is a transphosphatidylase: it mediates the exchange of polar headgroups covalently attached to membrane-bound lipids. Utilizing water as a nucleophile, this enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of the phosphodiester bond in structural phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The products of this hydrolysis are the membrane-bound lipid phosphatidic acid (PA), and choline, which diffuses into the cytosol. As choline has little second messenger activity, PLD activity is mostly transduced by the production of PA. PA is heavily involved in intracellular signal transduction. In addition, some members of the PLD superfamily may employ primary alcohols such as ethanol or 1-butanol in the cleavage of the phospholipid, effectively catalyzing the exchange the polar lipid headgroup. Other members