Hepatic Topology of Glycosphingolipids in Schistosoma mansoni-Infected Hamsters

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by worm parasites of the genus Schistosoma. Upon infection, parasite eggs can lodge inside of host organs like the liver. This leads to granuloma formation, which is the main cause of the pathology of schistosomiasis. To better understand the different levels of host−pathogen interaction and pathology, our study focused on the characterization of glycosphingolipids (GSLs). For this purpose, GSLs in livers of infected and noninfected hamsters were studied by combining high-spatialresolution atmospheric-pressure scanning microprobe matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (AP-SMALDI MSI) with nanoscale hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nano-HILIC MS/ MS). Nano-HILIC MS/MS revealed 60 GSL species with a distinct saccharide and ceramide composition. AP-SMALDI MSI measurements were conducted in positive-and negative-ion mode for the visualization of neutral and acidic GSLs. Based on nano-HILIC MS/MS results, we discovered no downregulated but 50 significantly upregulated GSLs in liver samples of infected hamsters. AP-SMALDI MSI showed that 44 of these GSL species were associated with the granulomas in the liver tissue. Our findings suggest an important role of GSLs during granuloma formation.

FAIMS Shotgun Lipidomics for Enhanced Class- and Charge-State Separation Complemented by Automated Ganglioside Annotation

“…As FAIMS offers HILIC-like separations, pairing it with RP-MS could yield highly orthogonal chemical information. While HILIC is able to resolve certain sialic acid positional isomers using a minimum runtime of 15 min, ,− shotgun FAIMS provides a faster (6 min) ganglioside profiling strategy with class and charge-state separation and straightforward sample preparation.…”