Helminth lipidomics: Technical aspects and future prospects

Tao Wang; Shuai Nie; Gavin E Reid; Robin B Gasser

doi:10.1016/j.crpvbd.2021.100018

Helminth lipidomics: Technical aspects and future prospects

Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2021 Feb 24:1:100018. doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2021.100018. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Tao Wang¹, Shuai Nie², Gavin E Reid^{3

4

5}, Robin B Gasser¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
² Bio21 Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
³ School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010 Australia.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
⁵ Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.

Abstract

Lipidomics is a relatively recent molecular research field, and explores lipids (fats) and their biology using advanced mass spectrometry technologies. Although this field has expanded significantly in biomedical and biotechnological disciplines, it is still in its infancy in molecular parasitology. Our goal here is to review and discuss technical aspects of MS-based lipidomics and its recent applications to parasitic worms, as well as challenges and future directions for worm lipid research. In a multi-omic paradigm, we expect that the exploration of lipidomic data for parasitic worms will yield important insights into lipid-associated biological pathways and processes, including the regulation of essential signalling pathways, parasite invasion, establishment, adaptation and development.

Keywords: Helminth; Lipid (fat); Lipidome; Lipidomics; Mass spectrometry; Parasitic worm.

Publication types

Review