Rapid characterization of the fatty acyl composition of complex lipids by collision-induced dissociation time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Fatty Acid Composition by Total Acyl Lipid Collision-Induced Dissociation Time-of-Flight (TAL-CID-TOF) Mass Spectrometry

Total acyl lipid collision-induced dissociation time-of-flight (TAL-CID-TOF) mass spectrometry uses a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer to rapidly provide a comprehensive fatty acid composition of a biological lipid extract. Samples are infused into a QTOF instrument, operated in negative mode, and the quadrupole is used to transfer all, or a wide mass range of, precursor ions to the collision cell for fragmentation. Time-of-flight-acquired mass spectra provide mass accuracy and resolution sufficient for chemical formula determination of fatty acids in the complex mixture. Considering the limited number of reasonable CHO variants in fatty acids, one can discern acyl anions with the same nominal mass but different chemical formulas. An online application, LipidomeDB Data Calculation Environment, is employed to process the mass spectral output data and match identified fragments to target fragments at a resolution specified by the user. TAL-CID-TOF methodology is a useful discovery or screening tool to identify and compare fatty acid profiles of biological samples.

Uncovering biologically significant lipid isomers with liquid chromatography, ion mobility spectrometry and mass spectrometry

Understanding how biological molecules are generated, metabolized and eliminated in living systems is important for interpreting processes such as immune response and disease pathology. While genomic and proteomic studies have provided vast amounts of information over the last several decades, interest in lipidomics has also grown due to improved analytical technologies revealing altered lipid metabolism in type 2 diabetes, cancer, and lipid storage disease. Mass spectrometry (MS) measurements are currently the dominant approach for characterizing the lipidome by providing detailed information on the spatial and temporal composition of lipids. However, interpreting lipids' biological roles is challenging due to the existence of numerous structural and stereoisomers (i.e. distinct acyl chain and double-bond positions), which are often unresolvable using present approaches. Here we show that combining liquid chromatography (LC) and structurally-based ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) measurement with MS analyses distinguishes lipid isomers and allows insight into biological and disease processes.

Mutations in the Prokaryotic Pathway Rescue the fatty acid biosynthesis1 Mutant in the Cold

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) fatty acid biosynthesis1 (fab1) mutant has increased levels of the saturated fatty acid 16:0 due to decreased activity of 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase II. In fab1 leaves, phosphatidylglycerol, the major chloroplast phospholipid, contains up to 45% high-melting-point molecular species (molecules that contain only 16:0, 16:1-trans, and 18:0), a trait associated with chilling-sensitive plants, compared with less than 10% in wild-type Arabidopsis. Although they do not exhibit typical chilling sensitivity, when exposed to low temperatures (2°C-6°C) for long periods, fab1 plants do suffer collapse of photosynthesis, degradation of chloroplasts, and eventually death. A screen for suppressors of this low-temperature phenotype has identified 11 lines, some of which contain additional alterations in leaf-lipid composition relative to fab1. Here, we report the identification of two suppressor mutations, one in act1, which encodes the chloroplast acyl-ACP:glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, and one in lpat1, which encodes the chloroplast acyl-ACP:lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase. These enzymes catalyze the first two steps of the prokaryotic pathway for glycerolipid synthesis, so we investigated whether other mutations in this pathway would rescue the fab1 phenotype. Both the gly1 mutation, which reduces glycerol-3-phosphate supply to the prokaryotic pathway, and fad6, which is deficient in the chloroplast 16:1/18:1 fatty acyl desaturase, were discovered to be suppressors. Analyses of leaf-lipid compositions revealed that mutations at all four of the suppressor loci result in reductions in the proportion of high-melting-point molecular species of phosphatidylglycerol relative to fab1. We conclude that these reductions are likely the basis for the suppressor phenotypes.

Isolation of the molecular species of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols from brown edible seaweed Sargassum horneri and their inhibitory effects on triglyceride accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

The chemical composition of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs) from brown alga Sargassum horneri and their inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation were investigated in this study. A total of 10 molecular species of MGDGs were identified using nuclear magnetic resonance, alkaline hydrolysis, gas chromatography-flame ionization detector, and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods. Individual molecular species of MGDGs, including (2S)-1-O-myristoyl-2-O-palmitoleoyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (1), (2S)-1-O-myristoyl-2-O-linoleyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (3), (2S)-1-O-palmitoyl-2-O-linolenoyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (5), (2S)-1-O-myristoyl-2-O-oleyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (7), (2S)-1-O-palmitoyl-2-O-palmitoleoyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (8), (2S)-1-O-palmitoyl-2-O-linoleyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (9), and (2S)-1-O-palmitoyl-2-O-oleyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (10), were then furnished using semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and their inhibitory effects on triglyceride (TG) accumulation and free fatty acid (FFA) levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes were evaluated. Compounds 3 and 9 showed inhibitory effects on TG and FFA accumulation, with TG levels of 1.568 ± 0.2808 and 1.701 ± 0.1460 μmol/L and FFA levels of 0.149 ± 0.0258 and 0.198 ± 0.0229 mequiv/L, respectively, which were more effective than other compounds. The primary structure-activity relationship suggested that linoleyl [18:2(ω-6)] in the sn-2 position played an important role on triglyceride accumulation inhibition.

Mass spectrometry based lipidomics: an overview of technological platforms

One decade after the genomic and the proteomic life science revolution, new ‘omics’ fields are emerging. The metabolome encompasses the entity of small molecules—Most often end products of a catalytic process regulated by genes and proteins—with the lipidome being its fat soluble subdivision. Within recent years, lipids are more and more regarded not only as energy storage compounds but also as interactive players in various cellular regulation cycles and thus attain rising interest in the bio-medical community. The field of lipidomics is, on one hand, fuelled by analytical technology advances, particularly mass spectrometry and chromatography, but on the other hand new biological questions also drive analytical technology developments. Compared to fairly standardized genomic or proteomic high-throughput protocols, the high degree of molecular heterogeneity adds a special analytical challenge to lipidomic analysis. In this review, we will take a closer look at various mass spectrometric platforms for lipidomic analysis. We will focus on the advantages and limitations of various experimental setups like ‘shotgun lipidomics’, liquid chromatography—Mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) based approaches. We will also examine available software packages for data analysis, which nowadays is in fact the rate limiting step for most ‘omics’ workflows.

Levels of Arabidopsis thaliana Leaf Phosphatidic Acids, Phosphatidylserines, and Most Trienoate-Containing Polar Lipid Molecular Species Increase during the Dark Period of the Diurnal Cycle

Previous work has demonstrated that plant leaf polar lipid fatty acid composition varies during the diurnal (dark-light) cycle. Fatty acid synthesis occurs primarily during the light, but fatty acid desaturation continues in the absence of light, resulting in polyunsaturated fatty acids reaching their highest levels toward the end of the dark period. In this work, Arabidopsis thaliana were grown at constant (21°C) temperature with 12-h light and 12-h dark periods. Collision induced dissociation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) demonstrated that 16:3 and 18:3 fatty acid content in membrane lipids of leaves are higher at the end of the dark than at the end of the light period, while 16:1, 16:2, 18:0, and 18:1 content are higher at the end of the light period. Lipid profiling of membrane galactolipids, phospholipids, and lysophospholipids by electrospray ionization triple quadrupole MS indicated that the monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine classes include molecular species whose levels are highest at end of the light period and others that are highest at the end of the dark period. The levels of phosphatidic acid (PA) and phosphatidylserine classes were higher at the end of the dark period, and molecular species within these classes either followed the class pattern or were not significantly changed in the diurnal cycle. Phospholipase D (PLD) is a family of enzymes that hydrolyzes phospholipids to produce PA. Analysis of several PLD mutant lines suggests that PLDζ2 and possibly PLDα1 may contribute to diurnal cycling of PA. The polar lipid compositional changes are considered in relation to recent data that demonstrate phosphatidylcholine acyl editing.

Levels of Arabidopsis thaliana Leaf Phosphatidic Acids, Phosphatidylserines, and Most Trienoate-Containing Polar Lipid Molecular Species Increase during the Dark Period of the Diurnal Cycle

Previous work has demonstrated that plant leaf polar lipid fatty acid composition varies during the diurnal (dark-light) cycle. Fatty acid synthesis occurs primarily during the light, but fatty acid desaturation continues in the absence of light, resulting in polyunsaturated fatty acids reaching their highest levels toward the end of the dark period. In this work, Arabidopsis thaliana were grown at constant (21°C) temperature with 12-h light and 12-h dark periods. Collision induced dissociation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) demonstrated that 16:3 and 18:3 fatty acid content in membrane lipids of leaves are higher at the end of the dark than at the end of the light period, while 16:1, 16:2, 18:0, and 18:1 content are higher at the end of the light period. Lipid profiling of membrane galactolipids, phospholipids, and lysophospholipids by electrospray ionization triple quadrupole MS indicated that the monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine classes include molecular species whose levels are highest at end of the light period and others that are highest at the end of the dark period. The levels of phosphatidic acid (PA) and phosphatidylserine classes were higher at the end of the dark period, and molecular species within these classes either followed the class pattern or were not significantly changed in the diurnal cycle. Phospholipase D (PLD) is a family of enzymes that hydrolyzes phospholipids to produce PA. Analysis of several PLD mutant lines suggests that PLDζ2 and possibly PLDα1 may contribute to diurnal cycling of PA. The polar lipid compositional changes are considered in relation to recent data that demonstrate phosphatidylcholine acyl editing.

Xenobiotic responsiveness of Arabidopsis thaliana to a chemical series derived from a herbicide safener

Plants respond to synthetic chemicals by eliciting a xenobiotic response (XR) that enhances the expression of detoxifying enzymes such as glutathione transferases (GSTs). In agrochemistry, the ability of safeners to induce an XR is used to increase herbicide detoxification in cereal crops. Based on the responsiveness of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to the rice safener fenclorim (4,6-dichloro-2-phenylpyrimidine), a series of related derivatives was prepared and tested for the ability to induce GSTs in cell suspension cultures. The XR in Arabidopsis could be divided into rapid and slow types depending on subtle variations in the reactivity (electrophilicity) and chemical structure of the derivatives. In a comparative microarray study, Arabidopsis cultures were treated with closely related compounds that elicited rapid (fenclorim) and slow (4-chloro-6-methyl-2-phenylpyrimidine) XRs. Both chemicals induced major changes in gene expression, including a coordinated suppression in cell wall biosynthesis and an up-regulation in detoxification pathways, whereas only fenclorim selectively induced sulfur and phenolic metabolism. These transcriptome studies suggested several linkages between the XR and oxidative and oxylipin signaling. Confirming links with abiotic stress signaling, suppression of glutathione content enhanced GST induction by fenclorim, whereas fatty acid desaturase mutants, which were unable to synthesize oxylipins, showed an attenuated XR. Examining the significance of these studies to agrochemistry, only those fenclorim derivatives that elicited a rapid XR proved effective in increasing herbicide tolerance (safening) in rice.

Rapid identification of fluorochrome modification sites in proteins by LC ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometry

Conjugation of either a fluorescent dye or a drug molecule to the ε-amino groups of lysine residues of proteins has many applications in biology and medicine. However, this type of conjugation produces a heterogeneous population of protein conjugates. Because conjugation of fluorochrome or drug molecule to a protein may have deleterious effects on protein function, the identification of conjugation sites is necessary. Unfortunately, the identification process can be time-consuming and laborious; therefore, there is a need to develop a rapid and reliable way to determine the conjugation sites of the fluorescent label or drug molecule. In this study, the sites of conjugation of fluorescein-5'-isothiocyanate and rhodamine-B-isothiocyanate to free amino groups on the insert-domain (I-domain) protein derived from the α-subunit of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) were determined by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF MS) along with peptide mapping using trypsin digestion. A reporter fragment of the fluorochrome moiety that is generated in the collision cell of the Q-TOF without explicit MS/MS precursor selection was used to identify the conjugation site. Selected ion plots of the reporter ion readily mark modified peptides in chromatograms of the complex digest. Interrogation of theses spectra reveals a neutral loss/precursor pair that identifies the modified peptide. The results show that one to seven fluorescein molecules or one to four rhodamine molecules were attached to the lysine residue(s) of the I-domain protein. No modifications were found in the metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS), which is an important binding region of the I-domain.

New applications of mass spectrometry in lipid analysis

Mass spectrometry has emerged as a powerful tool for the analysis of all lipids. Lipidomic analysis of biological systems using various approaches is now possible with a quantitative measurement of hundreds of lipid molecular species. Although availability of reference and internal standards lags behind the field, approaches using stable isotope-labeled derivative tagging permit precise determination of specific phospholipids in an experimental series. The use of reactivity of ozone has enabled assessment of double bond positions in fatty acyl groups even when species remain in complex lipid mixtures. Rapid scanning tandem mass spectrometers are capable of quantitative analysis of hundreds of targeted lipids at high sensitivity in a single on-line chromatographic separation. Imaging mass spectrometry of lipids in tissues has opened new insights into the distribution of lipid molecular species with promising application to study pathophysiological events and diseases.

Ultra performance liquid chromatography and high resolution mass spectrometry for the analysis of plant lipids

Holistic analysis of lipids is becoming increasingly popular in the life sciences. Recently, several interesting, mass spectrometry-based studies have been conducted, especially in plant biology. However, while great advancements have been made we are still far from detecting all the lipids species in an organism. In this study we developed an ultra performance liquid chromatography-based method using a high resolution, accurate mass, mass spectrometer for the comprehensive profiling of more than 260 polar and non-polar Arabidopsis thaliana leaf lipids. The method is fully compatible to the commonly used lipid extraction protocols and provides a viable alternative to the commonly used direct infusion-based shotgun lipidomics approaches. The whole process is described in detail and compared to alternative lipidomic approaches. Next to the developed method we also introduce an in-house developed database search software (GoBioSpace), which allows one to perform targeted or un-targeted lipidomic and metabolomic analysis on mass spectrometric data of every kind.

Characterization of substrate preference for Slc1p and Cst26p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using lipidomic approaches and an LPAAT activity assay

Background

Phosphatidic acid (PA) is a key regulated intermediate and precursor for de novo biosynthesis of all glycerophospholipids. PA can be synthesized through the acylation of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) by 1-acyl-3-phosphate acyltransferase (also called lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase, LPAAT). Recent findings have substantiated the essential roles of acyltransferases in various biological functions.

Methodologies/Principal Findings

We used a flow-injection-based lipidomic approach with ∼200 multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions to pre-screen fatty acyl composition of phospholipids in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants. Dramatic changes were observed in fatty acyl composition in some yeast mutants including Slc1p, a well-characterized LPAAT, and Cst26p, a recently characterized phosphatidylinositol stearoyl incorporating 1 protein and putative LPAAT in S. cerevisiae. A comprehensive high-performance liquid chromatography–based multi-stage MRM approach (more than 500 MRM transitions) was developed and further applied to quantify individual phospholipids in both strains to confirm these changes. Our data suggest potential fatty acyl substrates as well as fatty acyls that compensate for defects in both Cst26p and Slc1p mutants. These results were consistent with those from a non-radioactive LPAAT enzymatic assay using C17-LPA and acyl-CoA donors as substrates.

Conclusions

We found that Slc1p utilized fatty acid (FA) 18:1 and FA 14:0 as substrates to synthesize corresponding PAs; moreover, it was probably the only acyltransferase responsible for acylation of saturated short-chain fatty acyls (12:0 and 10:0) in S. cerevisiae. We also identified FA 18:0, FA 16:0, FA 14:0 and exogenous FA 17:0 as preferred substrates for Cst26p because transformation with a GFP-tagged CST26 restored the phospholipid profile of a CST26 mutant. Our current findings expand the enzymes and existing scope of acyl-CoA donors for glycerophospholipid biosynthesis.

Global characterization of the photosynthetic glycerolipids from a marine diatom Stephanodiscus sp. by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry

The photosynthetic glycerolipids composition of algae is crucial for structural and physiological aspects. In this work, a comprehensive characterization of the photosynthetic glycerolipids of the diatom Stephanodiscus sp. was carried out by ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF MS). By use of the MS(E) data collection mode, the Q-TOF instrument offered a very viable alternative to triple quadrupoles for precursor ion scanning of photosynthetic glycerolipids and had the advantage of high efficiency, selectivity, sensitivity and mass accuracy. Characteristic fragment ions were utilized to identify the structures and acyl compositions of photosynthetic glycerolipids. Comparing the abundance of fragment ions, it was possible to determine the position of the sn-glycerol-bound fatty acyl chains. As a result, four classes of photosynthetic glycerolipid in the extract of Stephanodiscus sp. were unambiguously identified, including 16 monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs), 9 digalactosyldiacylglycerols (DGDGs), 23 sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDGs) and 8 phosphatidylglycerols (PGs). As far as our knowledge, this is the first report on global identification of photosynthetic glycerolipids, including lipid classes, fatty acyl composition within lipids and the location of fatty acids in lipids (sn-1 vs. sn-2), in the extract of marine microalgae by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF MS directly.

Tocopherols modulate extraplastidic polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in Arabidopsis at low temperature

Tocopherols (vitamin E) are synthesized in plastids and have long been assumed to have essential functions restricted to these organelles. We previously reported that the vitamin e-deficient2 (vte2) mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana is defective in transfer cell wall development and photoassimilate transport at low temperature (LT). Here, we demonstrate that LT-treated vte2 has a distinct composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): lower levels of linolenic acid (18:3) and higher levels of linoleic acid (18:2) compared with the wild type. Enhanced 18:3 oxidation was not involved, as indicated by the limited differences in oxidized lipid species between LT-treated vte2 and the wild type and by a lack of impact on the LT-induced vte2 phenotype in a vte2 fad3 fad7 fad8 quadruple mutant deficient in 18:3. PUFA changes in LT-treated vte2 occur primarily in phospholipids due to reduced conversion of dienoic to trienoic fatty acids in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) pathway. Introduction of the ER fatty acid desaturase mutation, fad2, and to a lesser extent the plastidic fad6 mutation into the vte2 background suppressed the LT-induced vte2 phenotypes, including abnormal transfer cell wall development. These results provide biochemical and genetic evidence that plastid-synthesized tocopherols modulate ER PUFA metabolism early in the LT adaptation response of Arabidopsis.