We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Lipid Species Offer Insights into Metabolic Health

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 11 Jul 2018
Heart disease is the number one killer in the USA, and high triglyceride levels in the blood are cited as just one of several risk factors. More...
Millions of lipid panels, blood tests that look at cholesterol levels as well as triglycerides, are performed in clinics each year.

Aberrant levels of storage lipids (triacylglycerol [TAG]), circulating lipid-protein complexes (lipoprotein particles), and membrane lipids (phospholipids [PL] and diacylglycerols [DAG]) have been linked to metabolic dysfunction, such as seen in the metabolic syndrome, whose features include obesity, insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, and non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD).

Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research (Madison, WI, USA) and their international colleagues enrolled 29 males and 15 females and used a murine model in a study of individual species of triglycerides. Fasting whole blood samples were obtained by venipuncture after an overnight fast of eight hours or more and processed for plasma within two hours on the day of liver biopsy. Routine blood tests were performed at a university hospital and included measures of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), fasting TAG, cholesterol, glucose and insulin.

The biochemical tests were performed according to the manufacturer instructions for each parameter. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was performed on an Ascentis Express C18 column using an Accela LC Pump (400 μL/min flow rate.

The team found quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for ∼94% of the lipids measured. Several QTLs harbored genes associated with blood lipid levels and abnormal lipid metabolism in human genome-wide association studies. Lipid species from different classes provided signatures of metabolic health, including seven plasma triglyceride species that associated with either healthy or fatty liver. This observation was further validated in an independent mouse model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and in plasma from NAFLD patients. This work provides a resource to identify plausible genes regulating the measured lipid species and their association with metabolic traits.

Molly McDevitt, BS, a graduate student and co-first author of the study, said, “We don't even know how many different triglycerides there are – hundreds, thousands. We found that some triglycerides correlate positively with a fatty liver, while others correlate negatively with a fatty liver. Lumping all triglycerides into one class masks these subtler associations.” The study was published on June 13, 2018, in the journal Cell Systems.

Related Links:
Morgridge Institute for Research


Gold Member
Quantitative POC Immunoassay Analyzer
EASY READER+
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Gold Member
Serological Pipets
INTEGRA Serological Pipets
New
Gold Member
Quality Control Material
iPLEX Pro Exome QC Panel
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.