Functional fluxolipidomics of polyunsaturated fatty acids and oxygenated metabolites in the blood vessel compartment

Protective Effects of Schizochytrium Microalgal Fatty Acids on Alcoholic Liver Disease: A Network Pharmacology and In Vivo Study

This study aimed to elucidate the hepatoprotective mechanisms of microalgal fatty acids (MFA) from Schizochytrium against alcoholic liver disease (ALD) through network pharmacology and in vivo analysis. Network pharmacology and molecular docking methodologies were employed to predict the potential mechanisms of MFA against ALD. To substantiate these predictions, an acute alcoholic liver injury mouse model was utilized to assess the impact of MFA on serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein (TP), and albumin (ALB). Additionally, liver histopathology and the expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT) protein were evaluated. Seven active ingredients and 53 potential targets (including 7 core targets) for ALD treatment were identified in MFA. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses indicated that these seven core targets are implicated in various biological pathways, notably those associated with cancer, viral infections, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Furthermore, molecular docking studies demonstrated that docosahexaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid in MFA exhibited strong binding affinity for these seven crucial targets. Animal experiments demonstrated that administration of MFA significantly decreased the levels of AST, ALT, and ALP, while increasing the levels of ALB and TP in mice with acute alcoholic liver injury. Moreover, MFA ameliorated liver tissue pathology and markedly down-regulated the expression of PI3K and AKT proteins in the liver. These results suggest that MFA may possess therapeutic potential for ALD by targeting multiple pathways, with its mechanisms likely involving the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Targeting Ferroptosis: Pathological Mechanism and Treatment of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) is a pathological process that occurs in many organs and diseases. Reperfusion, recovery of blood flow, and reoxygenation often lead to reperfusion injury. Drug therapy and early reperfusion therapy can reduce tissue injury and cell necrosis caused by ischemia, leading to irreversible I/R injury. Ferroptosis was clearly defined in 2012 as a newly discovered iron-dependent, peroxide-driven, nonapoptotic form of regulated cell death. Ferroptosis is considered the cause of reperfusion injury. This discovery provides new avenues for the recognition and treatment of diseases. Ferroptosis is a key factor that leads to I/R injury and organ failure. Given the important role of ferroptosis in I/R injury, there is considerable interest in the potential role of ferroptosis as a targeted treatment for a wide range of I/R injury-related diseases. Recently, substantial progress has been made in applying ferroptosis to I/R injury in various organs and diseases. The development of ferroptosis regulators is expected to provide new opportunities for the treatment of I/R injury. Herein, we analytically review the pathological mechanism and targeted treatment of ferroptosis in I/R and related diseases from the perspectives of myocardial I/R injury, cerebral I/R injury, and ischemic renal injury.

The pathological role of ferroptosis in ischemia/reperfusion-related injury

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is a pathological process that occurs in numerous organs throughout the human body, and it is frequently associated with severe cellular damage and death. Recently it has emerged that ferroptosis, a new form of regulated cell death that is caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, plays a significantly detrimental role in many I/R models. In this review, we aim to revise the pathological process of I/R and then explore the molecular pathogenesis of ferroptosis. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate the role that ferroptosis plays in I/R, providing evidence to support the targeting of ferroptosis in the I/R pathway may present as a therapeutic intervention to alleviate ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) associated cell damage and death.

Platelet lipidome: Dismantling the "Trojan horse" in the bloodstream

The platelet-lipid chapter in the story of atherothrombosis is an old one, recapitulated and revised in many contexts. For decades several stimulating facets have been added to it, both unraveling and increasing the perplexity of platelet-lipid interplay and its pathophysiological consequences. The recent paradigm shift in our perspective has evolved with lipidomic analysis of the intraplatelet compartment and platelet releasate. These investigations have disclosed that platelets are in constant interaction with circulatory lipids, often reflected in their lipid repertoire. In addition, they offer a shielded intracellular space for oxidative lipid metabolism generating "toxic" metabolites that escape degradation by plasma lipases and antioxidant defense, circulate undetected by conventional plasma lipid profile, and deposited at atherosclerotic lesions or thrombus. Lipidomics divulges this silent invader in platelet vehicles, thereby providing potential biomarkers of pathologic manifestations and therapeutic targets to be exploited, which is surmised in this review.

Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Free and Esterified Oxygenated Derivatives from Docosahexaenoic Acid in Rat Brain

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a prominent long-chain fatty acid of the omega-3 family, is present at high amount in brain tissues, especially in membrane phospholipids. This polyunsaturated fatty acid is the precursor of various oxygenated lipid mediators involved in diverse physiological and pathophysiological processes. Characterization of DHA-oxygenated metabolites is therefore crucial for better understanding the biological roles of DHA. In this study, we identified and measured, by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, a number of oxygenated products derived from DHA in exsanguinated and nonexsanguinated brains. These metabolites were found both in free form and esterified in phospholipids. Interestingly, both (R)- and (S)-monohydroxylated fatty acid stereoisomers were observed free and esterified in phospholipids. Monohydroxylated metabolites were the main derivatives; however, measurable amounts of dihydroxylated products such as protectin DX were detected. Moreover, exsanguination allowed discriminating brain oxygenated metabolites from those generated in blood. These results obtained in healthy rats allowed an overview on the brain oxygenated metabolism of DHA, which deserves further research in pathophysiological conditions, especially in neurodegenerative diseases.