1H and 13C NMR studies of melon and head blubber of the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Human meibum chain branching variability with age, gender and meibomian gland dysfunction

NMR spectroscopy was used to measure hydrocarbon chain branching variability in meibum with age, gender and Meibomian gland dysfuction (MGD). A cohort of 65 meibum donors without dry eye and 31 donors with MGD was studied. Heteronuclear 2D NMR was used to confirm CH₃ resonance assignments allowing us to positively identify 23 of the 27 proton resonances of cholesteryl ester and ¹H resonances due to straight chain, iso-branched and anteiso-branched hydrocarbons. Meibum from donors without dry eye contained 57 ± 1% straight-chains, 23 ± 1% iso-branched chains and 20 ± 1% anteiso-branched hydrocarbon chains. Compared with meibum from donors without dry eye, meibum from donors with MGD contained less, 50 ± 2% straight-chains, more, 32 ± 2% iso-branched chains and the same amount, 18.0 ± 0.07%, of anteiso-branched hydrocarbon chains. Meibum hydrocarbon chain branching did not change with age between 22 and 68 years of age, nor was it influenced by gender. Based on previous studies, one would expect anteiso-branched chains would contribute to lowering the phase transition temperature of meibum, decrease the elasticity of the tear film lipid layer and increase the molecular area and spreading of meibum on the surface of the eye. Although we speculate that the observed differences in iso-chain branching do not influence tear film stability or rheology, the speculation has yet to be tested.

Anatomical, Physiological, and Functional Diversity of Adipose Tissue

Adipose tissue depots can exist in close association with other organs, where they assume diverse, often non-traditional functions. In stem cell-rich skin, bone marrow, and mammary glands, adipocytes signal to and modulate organ regeneration and remodeling. Skin adipocytes and their progenitors signal to hair follicles, promoting epithelial stem cell quiescence and activation, respectively. Hair follicles signal back to adipocyte progenitors, inducing their expansion and regeneration, as in skin scars. In mammary glands and heart, adipocytes supply lipids to neighboring cells for nutritional and metabolic functions, respectively. Adipose depots adjacent to skeletal structures function to absorb mechanical shock. Adipose tissue near the surface of skin and intestine senses and responds to bacterial invasion, contributing to the body's innate immune barrier. As the recognition of diverse adipose depot functions increases, novel therapeutic approaches centered on tissue-specific adipocytes are likely to emerge for a range of cancers and regenerative, infectious, and autoimmune disorders.

Qualitative and quantitative study of the highly specialized lipid tissues of cetaceans using HR-MAS NMR and classical GC

Cetacean adipose tissues contain an extremely very wide variety of acyl-chains present in triacylglycerols and / or wax esters. In addition, changes in the lipid composition across organs suggest fine stratification. It therefore remains technically challenging to describe precisely the lipid organization of these tissues. In the present study, we used in parallel HR-MAS NMR (High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and GC (gas-chromatography) to characterize and quantify the lipids and fatty acyl-chains from the blubber and melon of two odontocete species. Both methods generated very similar compositions, but each presented clear advantages. While GC underestimated the amount of short branched fatty acyl-chains, which are specific to cetacean adipose tissues and most probably of primary importance for their functioning, HR-MAS NMR allowed for their exact quantification. Conversely, when HR-MAS NMR could only discriminate a few types of fatty acyl-chain families, GC unambiguously identified and quantified most of them. In addition, this technique allowed for the determination of the wax esters molecular species. Our results further suggest that the stratification of these adipose tissues relies on changes in the triacylglycerol to wax ester ratio and in the fatty acyl composition of triacylglycerols, but not on changes in the wax esters composition. Altogether, our data show that the complementarities of these two approaches result in lipid analyses of unprecedented precision, paving the way for the detailed description of the fatty acyl composition of cetacean adipose tissues and the understanding of their functioning.

Changes in human meibum lipid composition with age using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PURPOSE

Human tear film stability decreases with increasing age. In this study, the changes in meibum composition were measured in search of markers of tear film instability.

METHODS

(1)H NMR nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of 43 normal donors aged 1 to 88 years were acquired.

RESULTS

Compared with meibum from adolescents and adults, meibum from infants and children contains less CH(3) and C═C groups and an increased aldehyde-to-lipid hydroperoxide ratio.

CONCLUSIONS

It is reasonable that tear film stability is higher in infants than in adults. Their meibum contains less CH(3) and C═C groups and higher levels of protein, and as a result, the lipid is more ordered because of the tighter and stronger lipid-lipid interactions. For water to evaporate, it must first pass through the tight lipid-lipid barrier. For tears to break up, lipid-lipid interactions must be broken. It is reasonable that because the lipid-lipid interactions are stronger in infants' and children's tears compared with those of adolescents and adults, the tear film in the younger groups is more stable and provides a better barrier to evaporation than does the tear film of adults. Lipid saturation could be the critical feature in meibum that stabilizes tears in infants.

Differences in human meibum lipid composition with meibomian gland dysfunction using NMR and principal component analysis

PURPOSE

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been used to quantify lipid wax, cholesterol ester terpenoid and glyceride composition, saturation, oxidation, and CH₂ and CH₃ moiety distribution. This tool was used to measure changes in human meibum composition with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

METHODS

(1)H-NMR spectra of meibum from 39 donors with meibomian gland dysfunction (Md) were compared to meibum from 33 normal donors (Mn).

RESULTS

Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the CH₂/CH₃ regions of a set of training NMR spectra of human meibum. PCA discriminated between Mn and Md with an accuracy of 86%. There was a bias toward more accurately predicting normal samples (92%) compared with predicting MGD samples (78%). When the NMR spectra of Md were compared with those of Mn, three statistically significant decreases were observed in the relative amounts of CH₃ moieties at 1.26 ppm, the products of lipid oxidation above 7 ppm, and the =CH moieties at 5.2 ppm associated with terpenoids.

CONCLUSIONS

Loss of the terpenoids could be deleterious to meibum since they exhibit a plethora of mostly positive biological functions and could account for the lower level of cholesterol esters observed in Md compared with Mn. All three changes could account for the higher degree of lipid order of Md compared with age-matched Mn. In addition to the power of NMR spectroscopy to detect differences in the composition of meibum, it is promising that NMR can be used as a diagnostic tool.

Analysis of the composition of lipid in human meibum from normal infants, children, adolescents, adults, and adults with meibomian gland dysfunction using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy

PURPOSE

This study represents a first step toward the evaluation of possible compositional differences in meibum from normal donors (Mn) and donors with meibomian gland dysfunction (Md) by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy. The results highlight the applicability of (1)H-NMR spectroscopy for the quantitative analysis of waxes, cholesteryl esters, and glycerides in meibum lipid (ML).

METHODS

Meibum was obtained from 41 normal donors and 51 donors with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). (1)H-NMR spectroscopy was used to quantify the amount of waxes, glycerides, and cholesteryl esters in human meibum.

RESULTS

The relative amount of cholesteryl esters in Mn increased with age and was 40% (P < 0.05) lower in Md. Interestingly, the relative levels of cholesteryl esters in infant meibum were comparable to those in Md. The relative amounts of glycerides were not affected significantly by age or MGD.

CONCLUSIONS

The changes in cholesteryl ester could be used as a molecular marker for MGD and could potentially be applied to follow the efficacy of drug therapy in the treatment of MGD. The similarity of the levels of cholesteryl esters in infant meibum and Md suggests that the relative amounts of these meibum components alone are unlikely to be responsible for the increased stability of the infant tear film and decreased stability of the tear film with MGD. This study reveals the complexity of human MLs and the changes that occur with age and disease. Understanding the factors that lead to such variations is of utmost relevance in the design of effective therapies.