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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Lipidomics and Transcriptomics in Neurological Diseases
Published on: March 18, 2022
Membrane Lipids in Presynaptic Function and Disease
Elsa Lauwers1, Rose Goodchild1, Patrik Verstreken1
1Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; VIB Center for the Biology of Disease, Leuven Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Herestraat 49, Bus 602, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Lipids are the most abundant organic compounds in the brain. The brain has a unique lipidome, and changes in lipid concentration, organization, and metabolism are associated with many neuronal diseases. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding presynaptic membrane lipid organization, centered on illustrative examples of how the lipids themselves regulate membrane trafficking and control protein activity. This insight highlights that presynaptic terminals are membrane-remodeling machines and that cooperation between lipid and protein molecules underlies presynaptic activity.
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