Extracellular and Intracellular Activities of PAF

Abstract

The potent and wide-ranging biologic activities of PAF are well documented (see Chapters 11–20). Nevertheless, we still have not determined when and where, in endogenous physiologic and pathologic processes, PAF is actually playing a role. In this chapter, I discuss some of the issues relating to where PAF may act and the nature of its biologic properties. Of necessity, the consideration is somewhat speculative, since the appropriate studies to address these questions are really only in their infancy. Moreover, because of the extensive discussion of the properties of PAF in this book, the references should be considered as illustrative and not exhaustive. Hopefully, the ideas elaborated herein will provide at the minimum an inducement for further investigation. It is even possible that this chapter will provide the beginnings of a framework that can be used to place the ether phospholipids now known as PAF into their proper context in pathophysiologic processes. For this discussion, the term PAF is used generically for molecules with structures and biologic activity similar to, or identical with, hexadecyl acetyl glycerophospho-choline.