The Plasma Oxylipin Signature Provides a Deep Phenotyping of Metabolic Syndrome Complementary to the Clinical Criteria.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex condition encompassing a constellation of cardiometabolic abnormalities. Oxylipins are a superfamily of lipid mediators regulating many cardiometabolic functions. Plasma oxylipin signature could provide a new clinical tool to enhance the phenotyping of MetS pathophysiology. A high-throughput validated mass spectrometry method, allowing for the quantitative profiling of over 130 oxylipins, was applied to identify and validate the oxylipin signature of MetS in two independent nested case/control studies involving 476 participants. We identified an oxylipin signature of MetS (coined OxyScore), including 23 oxylipins and having high performances in classification and replicability (cross-validated AUCROC of 89%, 95% CI: 85-93% and 78%, 95% CI: 72-85% in the Discovery and Replication studies, respectively). Correlation analysis and comparison with a classification model incorporating the MetS criteria showed that the oxylipin signature brings consistent and complementary information to the clinical criteria. Being linked with the regulation of various biological processes, the candidate oxylipins provide an integrative phenotyping of MetS regarding the activation and/or negative feedback regulation of crucial molecular pathways. This may help identify patients at higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases. The oxylipin signature of patients with metabolic syndrome enhances MetS phenotyping and may ultimately help to better stratify the risk of cardiometabolic diseases.

Rapid assessment of fatty acyls chains of phospholipids and plasmalogens by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization in positive mode and high-resolution mass spectrometry using in-source generated monoacylglycerol like fragments intensities.

We recently published a new concept using monoacylglycerol-like fragments [MG+H-H2O]+ (ions B) produced in-source by atmospheric pressure photoionization in positive mode and high-resolution mass spectrometry for the determination of the fatty acyl (FA) composition of triacylglycerols (TGs) from plant oils. This study extends the concept to the phospholipids (PLs) category and shows that the APCI+ source can also be used. Moreover, the coupling with NP-LC allows to simultaneously analyze different PLs classes in the same sample. We compared the relative intensities of the ions B produced in-source to the % composition of FAs determined by GC-FID. In the case of PLs from natural extracts composed exclusively of diacyl-PLs, the relative intensities of ions B are close to the % of the FAs obtained by GC-FID. This approach is not directly useable for extracts containing plasmalogens (P-PLs). For these PLs, acidic hydrolysis by HCl fumes allows hydrolyzing selectively vinyl ether functions to form lyso-PLs. The analysis of hydrolyzed extracts makes it possible to obtain the composition of P-PLs FAs thanks to the lyso-PLs thus formed, while the diacyl-PLs composition remains unchanged. Unlike GC-FID FAs determination, this approach allows a distinction between the diacyl-PLs and P-PLs FAs composition. We also found that the ion B intensities were consistent among the PL classes (PG, PE, PA, PI, CL, PS and PC) and lyso- forms (LPE and LPC). In the case of the diacyl-PLs extracts analyzed, no statistically significant differences were found between the PLs FAs compositions calculated from ion B intensities and the corresponding GC-FID data. A weighting coefficient was applied to correct ion B intensities issued from polyunsaturated FAs with three or more double bonds. The fatty alkenyls composition of P-PLs could also be calculated from the % intensities of specific ions.

Harmonized procedures lead to comparable quantification of total oxylipins across laboratories.

Oxylipins are potent lipid mediators involved in a variety of physiological processes. Their profiling has the potential to provide a wealth of information regarding human health and disease and is a promising technology for translation into clinical applications. However, results generated by independent groups are rarely comparable, which increases the need for the implementation of internationally agreed upon protocols. We performed an interlaboratory comparison for the MS-based quantitative analysis of total oxylipins. Five independent laboratories assessed the technical variability and comparability of 133 oxylipins using a harmonized and standardized protocol, common biological materials (i.e., seven quality control plasmas), standard calibration series, and analytical methods. The quantitative analysis was based on a standard calibration series with isotopically labeled internal standards. Using the standardized protocol, the technical variance was within ±15% for 73% of oxylipins; however, most epoxy fatty acids were identified as critical analytes due to high variabilities in concentrations. The comparability of concentrations determined by the laboratories was examined using consensus value estimates and unsupervised/supervised multivariate analysis (i.e., principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis). Interlaboratory variability was limited and did not interfere with our ability to distinguish the different plasmas. Moreover, all laboratories were able to identify similar differences between plasmas. In summary, we show that by using a standardized protocol for sample preparation, low technical variability can be achieved. Harmonization of all oxylipin extraction and analysis steps led to reliable, reproducible, and comparable oxylipin concentrations in independent laboratories, allowing the generation of biologically meaningful oxylipin patterns.

Improving lipid mapping in Genome Scale Metabolic Networks using ontologies.

INTRODUCTION: To interpret metabolomic and lipidomic profiles, it is necessary to identify the metabolic reactions that connect the measured molecules. This can be achieved by putting them in the context of genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions. However, mapping experimentally measured molecules onto metabolic networks is challenging due to differences in identifiers and level of annotation between data and metabolic networks, especially for lipids. OBJECTIVES: To help linking lipids from lipidomics datasets with lipids in metabolic networks, we developed a new matching method based on the ChEBI ontology. The implementation is freely available as a python library and in MetExplore webserver. METHODS: Our matching method is more flexible than an exact identifier-based correspondence since it allows establishing a link between molecules even if a different level of precision is provided in the dataset and in the metabolic network. For instance, it can associate a generic class of lipids present in the network with the molecular species detailed in the lipidomics dataset. This mapping is based on the computation of a distance between molecules in ChEBI ontology. RESULTS: We applied our method to a chemical library (968 lipids) and an experimental dataset (32 modulated lipids) and showed that using ontology-based mapping improves and facilitates the link with genome scale metabolic networks. Beyond network mapping, the results provide ways for improvements in terms of network curation and lipidomics data annotation. CONCLUSION: This new method being generic, it can be applied to any metabolomics data and therefore improve our comprehension of metabolic modulations.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites: biosynthesis in Leishmania and role in parasite/host interaction.

Inside the human host, Leishmania infection starts with phagocytosis of infective promastigotes by macrophages. In order to survive, Leishmania has developed several strategies to manipulate macrophage functions. Among these strategies, Leishmania as a source of bioactive lipids has been poorly explored. Herein, we assessed the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites by infective and noninfective stages of Leishmania and further explored the role of these metabolites in macrophage polarization. The concentration of docosahexaenoic acid metabolites, precursors of proresolving lipid mediators, was increased in the infective stage of the parasite compared with the noninfective stage, and cytochrome P450-like proteins were shown to be implicated in the biosynthesis of these metabolites. The treatment of macrophages with lipids extracted from the infective forms of the parasite led to M2 macrophage polarization and blocked the differentiation into the M1 phenotype induced by IFN-γ. In conclusion, Leishmania polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites, produced by cytochrome P450-like protein activity, are implicated in parasite/host interactions by promoting the polarization of macrophages into a proresolving M2 phenotype.