Vascular lipidomics analysis reveales increased levels of phosphocholine and lysophosphocholine in atherosclerotic mice

Li Zhang; Liling Xiong; Li Fan; Haoyang Diao; Mi Tang; Erdan Luo; Wenmei Guo; Xiao Yang; Shasha Xing

doi:10.1186/s12986-022-00723-y

Vascular lipidomics analysis reveales increased levels of phosphocholine and lysophosphocholine in atherosclerotic mice

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2023 Jan 4;20(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12986-022-00723-y.

Authors

Li Zhang^#^{1

2}, Liling Xiong^#¹, Li Fan¹, Haoyang Diao¹, Mi Tang¹, Erdan Luo¹, Wenmei Guo¹, Xiao Yang³, Shasha Xing⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China.
² Hongqiao International Institute of Medicine, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200336, China.
³ Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China. wcchgcptg@163.com.
⁴ Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China. xingshasha1230@126.com.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: Atherosclerosis (AS) is the major cause of cardiovascular disease, and dyslipidemia is a principal determinant of the initiation and progression of AS. Numerous works have analyzed the lipid signature of blood, but scarce information on the lipidome of vascular tissue is available. This study investigated the lipid profile in the aorta of ApoE^-/- mice.

Method: ApoE^-/- mice were randomly divided into two groups: (1) the normal diet (ND) group and (2) the high-fat diet (HFD) group. After feeding for 8 weeks, the plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TGs) levels were measured. UHPLC-Q Exactive plus MS was used to assess the lipid profile using both positive and negative ionization modes.

Results: LDL and TC levels were significantly increased in HFD mice, and lipid deposition, plaque area and collagen fiber levels were increased in HFD group. In addition, a total of 131 differential lipids were characterized, including 57 lipids with levels that were increased in the HFD group and 74 with levels that were decreased. Further analysis revealed that the levels of several differentially expressed phosphocholines (PCs) and lysophosphocholines (LPCs) were significantly increased. These PCs included PC (38:3), PC (36:4), PC (36:3), PC (36:2), PC (36:1), PC (34:1e), PC (34:1), PC (32:1), PC (18:0/18:1), and PC (38:5), and the LPCs included LPC (18:1), LPC (18:0) and LPC (16:0).

Conclusion: Our findings indicate the presence of a comprehensive lipid profile in the vascular tissue of atherosclerotic mice, particularly involving PC and LPC, which exhibited significantly increased levels in AS.

Keywords: ApoE −/− mice; Atherosclerosis; Lysophosphocholines; Phosphocholines; Untargeted lipidomics.

Abstract

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