Alterations in mouse brain lipidome after disruption of CST gene: a lipidomics study

Ketogenesis supports hepatic polyunsaturated fatty acid homeostasis via fatty acid elongation

Therapeutic interventions targeting hepatic lipid metabolism in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and steatohepatitis (MASH) remain elusive. Using mass spectrometry-based stable isotope tracing and shotgun lipidomics, we established a novel link between ketogenesis and MASLD pathophysiology. Our findings show that mouse liver and primary hepatocytes consume ketone bodies to support fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis via both de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and FA elongation. Analysis of 13 C-labeled FAs in hepatocytes lacking mitochondrial D-β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH1) revealed a partial reliance on mitochondrial conversion of D-βOHB to acetoacetate (AcAc) for cytoplasmic DNL contribution, whereas FA elongation from ketone bodies was fully dependent on cytosolic acetoacetyl-CoA synthetase (AACS). Ketone bodies were essential for polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) homeostasis in hepatocytes, as loss of AACS diminished both free and esterified PUFAs. Ketogenic insufficiency depleted liver PUFAs and increased triacylglycerols, mimicking human MASLD, suggesting that ketogenesis supports PUFA homeostasis, and may mitigate MASLD-MASH progression in humans.

Sulfatide Deficiency, an Early Alzheimer's Lipidomic Signature, Causes Brain Ventricular Enlargement in the Absence of Classical Neuropathological Hallmarks

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive memory loss and a decline in activities of daily life. Ventricular enlargement has been associated with worse performance on global cognitive tests and AD. Our previous studies demonstrated that brain sulfatides, myelin-enriched lipids, are dramatically reduced in subjects at the earliest clinically recognizable AD stages via an apolipoprotein E (APOE)-dependent and isoform-specific process. Herein, we provided pre-clinical evidence that sulfatide deficiency is causally associated with brain ventricular enlargement. Specifically, taking advantage of genetic mouse models of global and adult-onset sulfatide deficiency, we demonstrated that sulfatide losses cause ventricular enlargement without significantly affecting hippocampal or whole brain volumes using histological and magnetic resonance imaging approaches. Mild decreases in sulfatide content and mild increases in ventricular areas were also observed in human APOE4 compared to APOE2 knock-in mice. Finally, we provided Western blot and immunofluorescence evidence that aquaporin-4, the most prevalent aquaporin channel in the central nervous system (CNS) that provides fast water transportation and regulates cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, is significantly increased under sulfatide-deficient conditions, while other major brain aquaporins (e.g., aquaporin-1) are not altered. In short, we unraveled a novel and causal association between sulfatide deficiency and ventricular enlargement. Finally, we propose putative mechanisms by which sulfatide deficiency may induce ventricular enlargement.

Effects of perfluorobutane sulfonate and perfluorooctane sulfonate on lipid homeostasis in mouse liver

Perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), an alternative to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), has been increasingly used in recent years. However, emerging evidence has raised concerns about the potential health risks of PFBS. Here, the toxicityof low-dose PFBS on livers was explored and compared with that of PFOS. Adult C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 10 μg/L, 500 μg/L PFBS, or 500 μg/L PFOS for 28 days through drinking water. At the phenotypic level, no liver damage was observed in the 10 μg/L PFBS group. The cell apoptosis and decrease of CAT activities were observed in the 500 μg/L PFBS group, while accumulation of lipid droplets, increase of CAT activities and TAG levels were found in the 500 μg/L PFOS group. Lipidomics analysis revealed that 138, 238, and 310 lipids were significantly changed in the 10 μg/L, 500 μg/L PFBS and 500 μg/L PFOS groups, respectively. The two PFBS-treated groups induced similar global lipid changes in a dose-dependent manner, which were distinct from PFOS. Overall, PFBS exposure induced an increase in phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins, but a decrease in phosphatidylinositol. PFOS exposure caused an increase in triacylglycerols. This study provides more evidence on the health hazards caused by exposure to low-dose PFBS.

MG@PD@TiO2 nanocomposite based magnetic solid phase extraction coupled with LC-MS/MS for determination of lysophosphatidylcholines biomarkers of plasma in psoriasis patients

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) was commonly known as a class of significant differential metabolites of high relevance with many diseases including psoriasis, of which the accurate determination is of great importance to diagnosis or prediction to many diseases. However, it is challenging and complicated because of the enormous biological sample complexity and impurities interference. In this study, we synthesized a magnetic nanocomposite MG@PD@TiO₂ and took advantage of the interactions of Lewis acid-base between the phosphate groups in LPCs and Ti ions on MG@PD@TiO₂ nanomaterials for selective separation and enrichment of LPCs from complex biological matrix. The solid-phase extraction sample pretreatment process by means of MG@PD@TiO₂ nanomaterials coupled with LC-MS/MS method was then applied to actual determination of six typical LPCs (LPC 10:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 18:1, 22:0) in human plasma. The extraction conditions were scientifically optimized by single-factor test (adsorbent amount, adsorption and desorption time, elution solvent type, eluant volume). Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits (LOD, S/N = 3) and quantification limits (LOQ, S/N = 10) were 1 and 5 ng/mL for LPC 10:0 and LPC 14:0, 0.02 and 0.1 ng/mL for LPC 16:0 and LPC 18:1, 0.05 and 0.2 ng/mL LPC 18:0 and LPC 22:0, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precisions were 3.82-12.60 % (n = 6) and 3.29-13.50 % (n = 6) respectively, the recoveries were in the range of 91.92-113.69 % and the stability of the analytes in the matrix performed well with RSDs≤15.51 %. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied to the accurate determination of six LPCs biomarkers of plasma in patients with psoriasis (n = 10) and control groups (n = 10).

Wrapping axons in mammals and Drosophila: Different lipids, same principle

Plasma membranes of axon-wrapping glial cells develop specific cylindrical bilayer membranes that surround thin individual axons or axon bundles. Axons are wrapped with single layered glial cells in lower organisms whereas in the mammalian nervous system, axons are surrounded with a characteristic complex multilamellar myelin structure. The high content of lipids in myelin suggests that lipids play crucial roles in the structure and function of myelin. The most striking feature of myelin lipids is the high content of galactosylceramide (GalCer). Serological and genetic studies indicate that GalCer plays a key role in the formation and function of the myelin sheath in mammals. In contrast to mammals, Drosophila lacks GalCer. Instead of GalCer, ceramide phosphoethanolamine (CPE) has an important role to ensheath axons with glial cells in Drosophila. GalCer and CPE share similar physical properties: both lipids have a high phase transition temperature and high packing, are immiscible with cholesterol and form helical liposomes. These properties are caused by both the strong headgroup interactions and the tight packing resulting from the small size of the headgroup and the hydrogen bonds between lipid molecules. These results suggest that mammals and Drosophila wrap axons using different lipids but the same conserved principle.

Hepatocyte-Macrophage Acetoacetate Shuttle Protects against Tissue Fibrosis

Metabolic plasticity has been linked to polarized macrophage function, but mechanisms connecting specific fuels to tissue macrophage function remain unresolved. Here we apply a stable isotope tracing, mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics approach to reveal the metabolome penetrated by hepatocyte-derived glucose and ketone bodies. In both classically and alternatively polarized macrophages, [¹³C]acetoacetate (AcAc) labeled ∼200 chemical features, but its reduced form D-[¹³C]β-hydroxybutyrate (D-βOHB) labeled almost none. [¹³C]glucose labeled ∼500 features, and while unlabeled AcAc competed with only ∼15% of them, the vast majority required the mitochondrial enzyme succinyl-coenzyme A-oxoacid transferase (SCOT). AcAc carbon labeled metabolites within the cytoplasmic glycosaminoglycan pathway, which regulates tissue fibrogenesis. Accordingly, livers of mice lacking SCOT in macrophages were predisposed to accelerated fibrogenesis. Exogenous AcAc, but not D-βOHB, ameliorated diet-induced hepatic fibrosis. These data support a hepatocyte-macrophage ketone shuttle that segregates AcAc from D-βOHB, coordinating the fibrogenic response to hepatic injury via mitochondrial metabolism in tissue macrophages.

Hepatic ketogenic insufficiency reprograms hepatic glycogen metabolism and the lipidome

While several molecular targets are under consideration, mechanistic underpinnings of the transition from uncomplicated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remain unresolved. Here we apply multiscale chemical profiling technologies to mouse models of deranged hepatic ketogenesis to uncover potential NAFLD driver signatures. Use of stable-isotope tracers, quantitatively tracked by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, supported previous observations that livers of wild-type mice maintained long term on a high-fat diet (HFD) exhibit a marked increase in hepatic energy charge. Fed-state ketogenesis rates increased nearly 3-fold in livers of HFD-fed mice, a greater proportionate increase than that observed for tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux, but both of these contributors to overall hepatic energy homeostasis fueled markedly increased hepatic glucose production (HGP). Thus, to selectively determine the role of the ketogenic conduit on HGP and oxidative hepatic fluxes, we studied a ketogenesis-insufficient mouse model generated by knockdown of the mitochondrial isoform of 3-hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGCS2). In response to ketogenic insufficiency, TCA cycle flux in the fed state doubled and HGP increased more than 60%, sourced by a 3-fold increase in glycogenolysis. Finally, high-resolution untargeted metabolomics and shotgun lipidomics performed using ketogenesis-insufficient livers in the fed state revealed accumulation of bis(monoacylglycero)phosphates, which also accumulated in livers of other models commonly used to study NAFLD. In summary, natural and interventional variations in ketogenesis in the fed state strongly influence hepatic energy homeostasis, glucose metabolism, and the lipidome. Importantly, HGP remains tightly linked to overall hepatic energy charge, which includes both terminal fat oxidation through the TCA cycle and partial oxidation via ketogenesis.

Shotgun lipidomics in substantiating lipid peroxidation in redox biology: Methods and applications

Multi-dimensional mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics (MDMS-SL) has made profound advances for comprehensive analysis of cellular lipids. It represents one of the most powerful tools in analyzing lipids directly from lipid extracts of biological samples. It enables the analysis of nearly 50 lipid classes and thousands of individual lipid species with high accuracy/precision. The redox imbalance causes oxidative stress, resulting in lipid peroxidation, and alterations in lipid metabolism and homeostasis. Some lipid classes such as oxidized fatty acids, 4-hydroxyalkenal species, and plasmalogen are sensitive to oxidative stress or generated corresponding to redox imbalance. Therefore, accurate assessment of these lipid classes can provide not only the redox states, but also molecular insights into the pathogenesis of diseases. This review focuses on the advances of MDMS-SL in analysis of these lipid classes and molecular species, and summarizes their recent representative applications in biomedical/biological research. We believe that MDMS-SL can make great contributions to redox biology through substantiating the aberrant lipid metabolism, signaling, trafficking, and homeostasis under oxidative stress-related condition.

Effects of dietary glucocerebrosides from sea cucumber on the brain sphingolipid profiles of mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Alterations of sphingolipid levels in the hippocampus and cortex of normal, AD model, and SCG-treated mice.

Novel molecular insights into the critical role of sulfatide in myelin maintenance/function

Cerebroside sulfotransferase (CST) catalyzes the production of sulfatide, a major class of myelin-specific lipids. CST knockout (CST(-/-) ) mice in which sulfatide is completely depleted are born healthy, but display myelin abnormalities and progressive tremors starting at 4-6 weeks of age. Although these phenotypes suggest that sulfatide plays a critical role in myelin maintenance/function, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We analyzed the major CNS myelin proteins and the major lipids enriched in the myelin in a spatiotemporal manner. We found a one-third reduction of the major compact myelin proteins (myelin basic protein, myelin basic protein, and proteolipid protein, PLP) and an equivalent post-developmental loss of myelin lipids, providing the molecular basis behind the thinner myelin sheaths. Our lipidomics data demonstrated that the observed global reduction of myelin lipid content was not because of an increase of lipid degradation but rather to the reduction of their synthesis by oligodendrocytes. We also showed that sulfatide depletion leads to region-specific effects on non-compact myelin, dramatically affecting the paranode (neurofascin 155) and the major inner tongue myelin protein (myelin-associated glycoprotein). Moreover, we demonstrated that sulfatide promotes the interaction between adjacent PLP extracellular domains, evidenced by a progressive decline of high molecular weight PLP complexes in CST(-/-) mice, providing an explanation at a molecular level regarding the uncompacted myelin sheaths. Finally, we proposed that the dramatic losses of neurofascin 155 and PLP interactions are responsible for the progressive tremors and eventual ataxia. In summary, we unraveled novel molecular insights into the critical role of sulfatide in myelin maintenance/function. Cerebroside sulfotransferase (CST) catalyzes the production of sulfatide, a major class of myelin-specific lipids. CST knockout (CST(-/-) ) mice in which sulfatide is completely depleted are born healthy, but display myelin abnormalities We show in our study that sulfatide depletion leads to losses of myelin proteins and lipids, and impairment of myelin functions, unraveling novel molecular insights into the critical role of sulfatide in myelin maintenance/function.

Applications of mass spectrometry for cellular lipid analysis

Mass spectrometric analysis of cellular lipids is an enabling technology for lipidomics, which is a rapidly-developing research field. In this review, we briefly discuss the principles, advantages, and possible limitations of electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry-based methodologies for the analysis of lipid species. The applications of these methodologies to lipidomic research are also summarized.

Lipid membrane domains in the brain

The brain is characterized by the presence of cell types with very different functional specialization, but with the common trait of a very high complexity of structures originated by their plasma membranes. Brain cells bear evident membrane polarization with the creation of different morphological and functional subcompartments, whose formation, stabilization and function require a very high level of lateral order within the membrane. In other words, the membrane specialization of brain cells implies the presence of distinct membrane domains. The brain is the organ with the highest enrichment in lipids like cholesterol, glycosphingolipids, and the most recently discovered brain membrane lipid, phosphatidylglucoside, whose collective behavior strongly favors segregation within the membrane leading to the formation of lipid-driven membrane domains. Lipid-driven membrane domains function as dynamic platforms for signal transduction, protein processing, and membrane turnover. Essential events involved in the development and in the maintenance of the functional integrity of the brain depend on the organization of lipid-driven membrane domains, and alterations in lipid homeostasis, leading to deranged lipid-driven membrane organization, are common in several major brain diseases. In this review, we summarize the forces behind the formation of lipid membrane domains and their biological roles in different brain cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Brain Lipids.

The emergence of proteome-wide technologies: systematic analysis of proteins comes of age

During the lifetime of a cell proteins can change their localization, alter their abundance and undergo modifications, all of which cannot be assayed by tracking mRNAs alone. Methods to study proteomes directly are coming of age, thereby opening new perspectives on the role of post-translational regulation in stabilizing the cellular milieu. Proteomics has undergone a revolution, and novel technologies for the systematic analysis of proteins have emerged. These methods can expand our ability to acquire information from single proteins to proteomes, from static to dynamic measures and from the population level to the level of single cells. Such approaches promise that proteomes will soon be studied at a similar level of dynamic resolution as has been the norm for transcriptomes.