ApoD (apolipoprotein D) is up-regulated in AD (Alzheimer's disease) and upon oxidative stress. ApoD inhibits brain lipid peroxidation in vivo, but the mechanism is unknown. Specific methionine residues may inhibit lipid peroxidation by reducing radical-propagating L-OOHs (lipid hydroperoxides) to non-reactive hydroxides via a reaction that generates MetSO (methionine sulfoxide). Since apoD has three conserved methionine residues (Met(49), Met(93) and Met(157)), we generated recombinant proteins with either one or all methionine residues replaced by alanine and assessed their capacity to reduce HpETEs (hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acids) to their HETE (hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid) derivatives. ApoD, apoD(M49-A) and apoD(M157-A) all catalysed the reduction of HpETEs to their corresponding HETEs. Amino acid analysis of HpETE-treated apoD revealed a loss of one third of the methionine residues accompanied by the formation of MetSO. Additional studies using apoD(M93-A) indicated that Met(93) was required for HpETE reduction. We also assessed the impact that apoD MetSO formation has on protein aggregation by Western blotting of HpETE-treated apoD and human brain samples. ApoD methionine oxidation was associated with formation of apoD aggregates that were also detected in the hippocampus of AD patients. In conclusion, conversion of HpETE into HETE is mediated by apoD Met(93), a process that may contribute to apoD antioxidant function.

Blood serum is enriched in lipids and has provided a platform to understand the pathogenesis of a number of human diseases with improved diagnosis and development of biomarkers. Understanding lipid changes in neurodegenerative diseases is particularly important because of the fact that lipids make up >50% of brain tissues. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common cause of early onset dementia, characterized by brain atrophy in the frontal and temporal regions, concomitant loss of lipids and dyslipidemia. However, little is known about the link between dyslipidemia and FTD pathophysiology. Here, we utilized an innovative approach-lipidomics based on mass spectrometryto investigate three key aspects of FTD pathophysiology-mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress. We analyzed the lipids that are intrinsically linked to neurodegeneration in serum collected from FTD patients and controls. We found that cardiolipin, acylcarnitine, lysophosphatidylcholine, platelet-activating factor, o-acyl-ω-hydroxy fatty acid and acrolein were specifically altered in FTD with strong correlation between the lipids, signifying pathophysiological changes in FTD. The lipid changes were verified by measurement of the common disease markers (e.g. ATP, cytokine, calcium) using conventional assays. When put together, these results support the use of lipidomics technology to detect pathophysiological changes in FTD. Lipidomics is a systems-level analysis and characterization of lipids 1,2. Like other "omics" analyses, such as transcriptomics and proteomics, lipidomics is a global profiling of lipid species present in cells, tissues or body fluids 3. Lipidomics allows detection and quantification of thousands of different lipid species of a broad range of lipid classes 4. It has facilitated a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of a range of human diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It has also provided invaluable data to identify risk factors and develop biomarkers for disease identification and classification. Recent advances in lipidomics technology based on mass spectrometry have significantly improved the detection of a vast array of lipids present in blood serum. Importantly, it has allowed detection of small, yet significant, differences in lipid levels that are intrinsically linked to disease processes. Application of lipidomics in the study of neurodegenerative diseases is particularly imperative because of the fact that lipids make up 39.6% of the brain grey matter and 64.6% of the white matter 5. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common form of younger-onset dementia after Alzheimer's disease (AD), of which the main clinical syndrome is the behavioral variant (bvFTD) 6. Clinically, bvFTD is characterized by progressive changes in behavior and personality, loss of empathy, apathy, as well as variable cognitive deficits that include executive function, language and, in a subset episodic memory. Pathologically, FTD is characterized by brain atrophy in the frontal and ...

Previous studies indicate that apolipoprotein D (apoD) may have a lipid antioxidant function in the brain. We have shown that apoD can reduce free radical-generating lipid hydroperoxides to inert lipid hydroxides in a reaction that involves conversion of surface exposed apoD methione-93 (Met93) residue to Met93-sulfoxide (Met93-SO). One consequence of this reaction is the formation of a stable dimerized form of apoD. As cerebral lipid peroxidation is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), in the present study we aimed to assess the possible presence of apoD dimers in postmortem hippocampal and cerebellar tissues derived from a cohort of pathologically defined cases ranging from control to late stage AD. Both soluble and insoluble (requiring guanidine HCl extraction) fractions of tissue homogenates were analyzed for apoD and its dimerized form. We also assessed amyloid-β levels by ELISA and levels of lipid peroxidation by lipid conjugated diene and F2-isoprostane analysis. Our studies reveal a significant association between soluble apoD levels and AD Braak stage whereas apoD dimer formation appears to increase predominantly in the advanced stages of disease. The formation of apoD dimers is closely correlated to lipid conjugated diene levels and occurs in the hippocampus but not in the cerebellum. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that apoD acts as a lipid antioxidant in the brain.