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

High-resolution magic angle spinning NMR for intact biological specimen analysis: Initial discovery, recent developments, and future directions

High-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) NMR, an approach for intact biological material analysis discovered more than 25 years ago, has been advanced by many technical developments and applied to many biomedical uses. This article provides a history of its discovery, first by explaining the key scientific advances that paved the way for HRMAS NMR's invention, and then by turning to recent developments that have profited from applying and advancing the technique during the last 5 years. Developments aimed at directly impacting healthcare include HRMAS NMR metabolomics applications within studies of human disease states such as cancers, brain diseases, metabolic diseases, transplantation medicine, and adiposity. Here, the discussion describes recent HRMAS NMR metabolomics studies of breast cancer and prostate cancer, as well as of matching tissues with biofluids, multimodality studies, and mechanistic investigations, all conducted to better understand disease metabolic characteristics for diagnosis, opportune windows for treatment, and prognostication. In addition, HRMAS NMR metabolomics studies of plants, foods, and cell structures, along with longitudinal cell studies, are reviewed and discussed. Finally, inspired by the technique's history of discoveries and recent successes, future biomedical arenas that stand to benefit from HRMAS NMR-initiated scientific investigations are presented.

Climate change and cetacean health: impacts and future directions

Climate change directly impacts the foraging opportunities of cetaceans (e.g. lower prey availability), leads to habitat loss, and forces cetaceans to move to other feeding grounds. The rise in ocean temperature, low prey availability and loss of habitat can have severe consequences for cetacean survival, particularly those species that are already threatened or those with a limited habitat range. In addition, it is predicted that the concentration of contaminants in aquatic environments will increase owing to Arctic meltwater and increased rainfall events leading to higher rates of land-based runoff in downstream coastal areas. These persistent and mobile contaminants can bioaccumulate in the ecosystem, and lead to ecotoxicity with potentially severe consequences on the reproductive organs, immune system and metabolism of marine mammals. There is a need to measure and assess the cumulative impact of multiple stressors, given that climate change, habitat alteration, low prey availability and contaminants do not act in isolation. Human-caused perturbations to cetacean foraging abilities are becoming a pervasive and prevalent threat to many cetacean species on top of climate change-associated stressors. We need to move to a greater understanding of how multiple stressors impact the metabolism of cetaceans and ultimately their population trajectory. This article is part of the theme issue 'Nurturing resilient marine ecosystems'.

TLC-based MS Imaging Analysis of Glycosphingolipids and Glycerin Fatty Acid Esters after 1,2-Dichloroethane Washing

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-based mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of separated lipids on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates or followed by blotted hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes has become a powerful tool in lipidomic analyses. However, background peaks in MS spectra often cover lipid peaks in a low amount/ionization effect; consequently, only low intensities/resolutions MSI are obtained. To address the aforementioned problem, we attempted 1,2-dichloroethane pre-washing of TLC plates before development and found that backgrounds could successfully be removed from the TLC plate or PVDF membrane.

Multi-Omics Approaches and Radiation on Lipid Metabolism in Toothed Whales

Lipid synthesis pathways of toothed whales have evolved since their movement from the terrestrial to marine environment. The synthesis and function of these endogenous lipids and affecting factors are still little understood. In this review, we focused on different omics approaches and techniques to investigate lipid metabolism and radiation impacts on lipids in toothed whales. The selected literature was screened, and capacities, possibilities, and future approaches for identifying unusual lipid synthesis pathways by omics were evaluated. Omics approaches were categorized into the four major disciplines: lipidomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomics. Genomics and transcriptomics can together identify genes related to unique lipid synthesis. As lipids interact with proteins in the animal body, lipidomics, and proteomics can correlate by creating lipid-binding proteome maps to elucidate metabolism pathways. In lipidomics studies, recent mass spectroscopic methods can address lipid profiles; however, the determination of structures of lipids are challenging. As an environmental stress, the acoustic radiation has a significant effect on the alteration of lipid profiles. Radiation studies in different omics approaches revealed the necessity of multi-omics applications. This review concluded that a combination of many of the omics areas may elucidate the metabolism of lipids and possible hazards on lipids in toothed whales by radiation.