Hyperoside Nanomicelles Alleviate Atherosclerosis by Modulating the Lipid Profile and Intestinal Flora Structure in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Apolipoprotein-E-Deficient Mice

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a serious threat to human health and the main pathological basis of cardiovascular disease. Hyperoside (Hyp), a flavonoid found mainly in traditional Chinese herbs, can exert antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cardiovascular-protective effects. Herein, we prepared hybrid nanomicelles (HFT) comprising Hyp loaded into pluronic F-127 and polyethylene glycol 1000 vitamin E succinate and assessed their effects on AS. To establish an AS model, apolipoprotein-E-deficient (ApoE^-/-) mice were fed a high-fat diet. We then analyzed the effects of HFT on AS-induced changes in aortic tissues and metabolic markers, simultaneously assessing changes in gut flora community structure. In mice with AS, HFT significantly reduced the aortic plaque area; decreased levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, inflammatory factors, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS); increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, endothelial NOS, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione levels; and promoted the proliferation of beneficial gut bacteria. HFT could regulate intestinal flora structure and lipid metabolism and inhibit inflammatory responses. These beneficial effects may be mediated by inhibiting nuclear factor kappa B signal activation, reducing inflammatory factor expression and improving gut microflora structure and dyslipidemia. The present study provides an empirical basis for the development and clinical application of new dosage forms of Hyp.

Serum Untargeted UHPLC-HRMS-Based Lipidomics to Discover the Potential Biomarker of Colorectal Advanced Adenoma

Background

As a key precancerous lesion, colorectal advanced adenoma (CAA) is closely related to the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Effective identification of CAA-related biomarkers can prevent CRC morbidity and mortality. Lipids, as an important endogenous substance, have been proved to be involved in the occurrence and development of CRC. Lipidomics is an advanced technique that studies lipid metabolism and biomarkers of diseases. However, there are no lipidomics studies based on large serum samples to explore diagnostic biomarkers for CAA.

Methods

An integrated serum lipid profile from 50 normal (NR) and 46 CAA subjects was performed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Lipidomic data were acquired for negative and positive ionization modes, respectively. Differential lipids were selected by univariate and multivariate statistics analyses. A receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of differential lipids.

Results

A total of 53 differential lipids were obtained by combining univariate and multivariate statistical analyses (P < 0.05 and VIP > 1). In addition, 12 differential lipids showed good diagnostic performance (AUC > 0.90) for the discrimination of NR and CAA by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. Of them, the performance of PC 44:5 and PC 35:6e presented the outstanding performance (AUC = 1.00, (95% CI, 1.00–1.00)). Moreover, triglyceride (TAG) had the highest proportion (37.74%) as the major dysregulated lipids in the CAA.

Conclusion

This is the first study that profiled serum lipidomics and explored lipid biomarkers with good diagnostic ability of CAA to contribute to the early prevention of CRC. Twelve differential lipids that effectively discriminate between NR and CAA serve as the potential diagnostic markers of CAA. An obvious perturbation of TAG metabolism could be involved in the CAA formation.

Untargeted lipidomics reveals specific lipid abnormalities in Sjögren's syndrome

OBJECTIVE

The relationship between serum lipid variations in SS and healthy controls was investigated to identify potential predictive lipid biomarkers.

METHODS

Serum samples from 230 SS patients and 240 healthy controls were collected. The samples were analysed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive™ spectrometry. Potential lipid biomarkers were screened through orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis and further evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis.

RESULTS

A panel of three metabolites [phosphatidylcholine (18:0/22:5), triglyceride (16:0/18:0/18:1) and acylcarnitine (12:0)] was identified as a specific biomarker of SS. The receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the panel had a sensitivity of 84.3% with a specificity of 74.8% in discriminating patients with SS from healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

Our approach successfully identified serum biomarkers associated with SS patients. The potential lipid biomarkers indicated that SS metabolic disturbance might be associated with oxidized lipids, fatty acid oxidation and energy metabolism.

Lipidomic Analysis Reveals Serum Alteration of Plasmalogens in Patients Infected With ZIKA Virus

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) in the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family. Since the large outbreaks in French Polynesia in 2013–2014 and in Brazil in 2015, ZIKV has been considered a new public health threat. Similar to other related flavivirus, ZIKV is associated with mild and self-limiting symptoms such as rash, pruritus, prostration, headache, arthralgia, myalgia, conjunctivitis, lower back pain and, when present, a short-term low grade fever. In addition, ZIKV has been implicated in neurological complications such as neonatal microcephaly and Guillain–Barré syndrome in adults. Herein, serum lipidomic analysis was used to identify possible alterations in lipid metabolism triggered by ZIKV infection. Patients who presented virus-like symptoms such as fever, arthralgia, headache, exanthema, myalgia and pruritus were selected as the control group. Our study reveals increased levels of several phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipid species in the serum of ZIKV patients, the majority of them plasmenyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (pPE) (or plasmalogens) linked to polyunsaturated fatty acids. Constituting up to 20% of total phospholipids in humans, plasmalogens linked to polyunsaturated fatty acids are particularly enriched in neural membranes of the brain. The biosynthesis of plasmalogens requires functional peroxisomes, which are important sites for viral replication, including ZIKV. Thus, increased levels of plasmalogens in serum of ZIKV infected subjects suggest a link between ZIKV life cycle and peroxisomes. Our data provide important insights into specific host cellular lipids that are likely associated with ZIKV replication and may serve as platform for antiviral strategy against ZIKV.

Analysis of HETEs in human whole blood by chiral UHPLC-ECAPCI/HRMS

The biosynthesis of eicosanoids occurs enzymatically via lipoxygenases, cyclooxygenases, and cytochrome P450, or through nonenzymatic free radical reactions. The enzymatic routes are highly enantiospecific. Chiral separation and high-sensitivity detection methods are required to differentiate and quantify enantioselective HETEs in complex biological fluids. We report here a targeted chiral lipidomics analysis of human blood using ultra-HPLC-electron capture (EC) atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/high-resolution MS. Monitoring the high-resolution ions formed by the fragmentation of pentafluorobenzyl derivatives of oxidized lipids during the dissociative EC, followed by in-trap fragmentation, increased sensitivity by an order of magnitude when compared with the unit resolution MS. The 12(S)-HETE, 12(S)-hydroxy-(5Z,8E,10E)-heptadecatrienoic acid [12(S)-HHT], and 15(S)-HETE were the major hydroxylated nonesterified chiral lipids in serum. Stimulation of whole blood with zymosan and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in stimulus- and time-dependent effects. An acute exposure to zymosan induced ∼80% of the chiral plasma lipids, including 12(S)-HHT, 5(S)-HETE, 15(R)-HETE, and 15(S)-HETE, while a maximum response to LPS was achieved after a long-term stimulation. The reported method allows for a rapid quantification with high sensitivity and specificity of enantiospecific responses to in vitro stimulation or coagulation of human blood.