Increased plasma phosphatidylcholine/lysophosphatidylcholine ratios in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Rationale: Changes in lipid composition might be associated with the onset and progression of various neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, we investigated the changes in the plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC)/lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) ratios in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in comparison with healthy subjects and their correlation with clinico-pathological features. Methods: The study included 10 controls and 25 patients with PD. All patients were assigned to groups based on clinico-pathological characteristics (gender, age at examination, duration of disease and Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage). The analysis of the PC/LPC intensity ratios in plasma lipid extracts was performed using matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results: PD patients exhibited an increased PC/LPC intensity ratio in comparison with the control group of healthy subjects. Furthermore, the investigated ratio was shown to be correlated with clinico-pathological parameters, in particular with H&Y stage and disease duration. The PC/LPC intensity ratio in plasma samples of PD patients was found to be elevated in all examined H&Y stages and throughout the disease duration. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the PC/LPC ratios in plasma of patients with PD and illustrating their correlation with clinicopathological features. Although the presented results may be considered as preliminary due to the limited number of participants, the observed alterations of PC/LPC ratios in plasma might be a first step in the characterization of plasma lipid changes in PD patients and an indicator of lipid reconfiguration.

Lipid biosignature of breast cancer tissues by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

“…Since the S/N ratios differ significantly and MALDI is known for rather low shotto-shot reproducibility [35], two S/N ratios were compare, as the measure of the ion concentration ratios between the samples. This approach overcomes the drawback of the MALDI methodology, as it has been shown for the organic extracts from serum of rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease patients [36,37]. In addition to this, to check potential changes in the activity of the PLA 2 , an enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of the fatty acid from the sn-2 position of the lipid, the S/N ratio of the signal at m/z 496.3 (LPC 16:0) and both PCs at m/z 758.6 and m/z 760.6 were compared.…”

Parsing Fabry Disease Metabolic Plasticity Using Metabolomics

“…GPLs are also found largely in neural cell membranes, and studies have shown that abnormal metabolism of GPL is associated with neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration [ 56 ]. For example, alterations in the GPL composition of the neural membrane have been shown to occur in neurological pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease [ 58 ] and Parkinson’s disease [ 59 ]. Of note, GPL are also components of lipoproteins, particularly low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and it is now accepted that polyunsaturated fatty acids are more oxidation-sensitive [ 60 ].…”

Mass Spectrometry in Clinical Laboratories

“…Elevated Hcy concentration is deemed a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases inducing neurological dysfunction via oxidative stress [129]. Mild to moderate increases in Hcy levels have been associated with both vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) [130,131] and with a possible increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease at a later age [132][133][134].…”