Lipid Changes in the Peri-Implantation Period with Mass Spectrometry Imaging: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Mass spectrometry imaging is a sensitive method for detecting molecules in tissues in their native form. Lipids mainly act as energy stores and membrane constituents, but they also play a role in lipid signaling. Previous studies have suggested an important role of lipids in implantation; therefore, our aim was to investigate the lipid changes during this period based on the available literature. The systematic literature search was performed on Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, and LILACS. We included studies about lipid changes in the early embryonal stage of healthy mammalian development published as mass spectrometry imaging. The search retrieved 917 articles without duplicates, and five articles were included in the narrative synthesis of the results. Two articles found a different spatial distribution of lipids in the early bovine embryo and receptive uterus. Three articles investigated lipids in mice in the peri-implantation period and found a different spatial distribution of several glycerophospholipids in both embryonic and maternal tissues. Although only five studies from three different research groups were included in this systematic review, it is clear that the spatial distribution of lipids is diverse in different tissues and their distribution varies from day to day. This may be a key factor in successful implantation, but further studies are needed to elucidate the exact mechanism.

Untargeted Pixel-by-Pixel Imaging of Metabolite Ratio Pairs as a Novel Tool for Biomedical Discovery in Mass Spectrometry Imaging

“…Recent developments in mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) enable spatial mapping of the relative distribution and abundances of proteins, peptides, lipids, small molecule metabolites, drugs and elemental isotopes in heterogeneous tissue sections 1 with resolution at, or near, cellular 2 . Hence, MSI has become a promising tool in the era of spatial-omics [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] , especially at the single cell level 16 . Matrixassisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) are the dominant modes of ionization for MSI.…”

Warm Ischemia Induces Spatiotemporal Changes in Lysophosphatidylinositol That Affect Post-Reperfusion Injury in Normal and Steatotic Rat Livers

“…The signal intensities, detected as different mass-to-charge ratios (m/z), are displayed as pseudo colors in each pixel to visualize the distribution and quantity of the substance [16]. Recent studies have used IMS for analyzing lipid distribution [17] in rat brains during ischemia-reperfusion [18], pathological analysis of the relationship between lipid regulation and congenital valvular disease in human heart valves [19], pharmacokinetic analysis, and evaluation of therapeutic effects [20].…”