Characterisation of sphingolipids in the human lens by thin layer chromatography-desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

Jo Ann Seng; Shane R Ellis; Jessica R Hughes; Alan T Maccarone; Roger J W Truscott; Stephen J Blanksby; Todd W Mitchell

doi:10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.05.006

Characterisation of sphingolipids in the human lens by thin layer chromatography-desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

Biochim Biophys Acta. 2014 Sep;1841(9):1285-91. doi: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.05.006. Epub 2014 May 27.

Authors

Jo Ann Seng¹, Shane R Ellis¹, Jessica R Hughes², Alan T Maccarone¹, Roger J W Truscott³, Stephen J Blanksby⁴, Todd W Mitchell⁵

Affiliations

¹ ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
² School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
³ Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁴ ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: stephen.blanksby@qut.edu.au.
⁵ School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: toddm@uow.edu.au.

PMID: 24873739
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.05.006

Abstract

The lipidome of the human lens is unique in that cholesterol and dihydrosphingomyelin are the dominant classes. Moreover, the lens lipidome is not static with dramatic changes in several sphingolipid classes associated with both aging and cataract. Accordingly, there is a clear need to expand knowledge of the molecular species that constitute the human lens sphingolipidome. In this study, human lens lipids have been extracted and separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Direct analysis of the TLC plates by desorption electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) allowed the detection over 30 species from 11 classes of sphingolipids. Significantly, novel classes of lens lipids including sulfatides, dihydrosulfatides, lactosylceramide sulfates and dihydrolactosylceramide sulfates were identified.

Keywords: Glycosphingolipids; Human lens; Lactosylceramide sulfates; Lipidomics; Mass spectrometry; Sulfatides.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cholesterol / isolation & purification*
Chromatography, Thin Layer
Humans
Lens, Crystalline / chemistry*
Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
Sphingolipids / chemistry*
Sphingolipids / classification
Sphingolipids / isolation & purification
Young Adult

Substances

Sphingolipids
Cholesterol