Metabolomics and Enzymology

Lipidomics

The pivotal role of lipids in cell, tissue and organ physiology is demonstrated by a large number of genetic studies and by many human diseases that involve the disruption of lipid metabolic enzymes and pathways. Examples of such diseases include cancer, diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative and infectious diseases. So far, the outbreak of information in the fields of genomics and proteomics has not been matched by a corresponding advancement of knowledge in the field of lipids, which is largely due to the complexity of lipids and the lack of powerful tools for their analysis. Novel analytical approaches mainly LC and MS for system-level analysis of lipids and their interacting partners now make this field a promising area of biomedical research, with a variety of applications in drug and biomarker development. Mass spectrometry, largely due to its analytical power and rapid development of new instruments and techniques, has been widely used in lipidomics.