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Whole-body Mass Spectrometry Imaging by Infrared Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Electrospray Ionization IR-MALDESI
Published on: March 24, 2016
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Regional Lipid Expression Abnormalities Identified Using MALDI IMS Correspond to MRI-Defined White Matter
William Pinsky1, Aaron Harris1, Austyn D Roseborough1
1Vulnerable Brain Lab, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1 Ontario, Canada.
Analytical Chemistry
|January 19, 2021
Summary
Periventricular white matter hyperintensities (pvWMHs) involve unknown lipid changes. New MALDI-IMS methods reveal distinct lipid profiles in these lesions within archival brain tissue, aiding understanding of white matter disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Pathology
Background:
- Periventricular white matter hyperintensities (pvWMHs) are MRI-detected neurological features linked to stroke and dementia risk.
- pvWMHs involve white matter lesions with myelin and axon rarefaction, suggesting altered lipid composition.
- Lipid perturbations are implicated in neurological disorders, but specific changes in pvWMHs are unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and characterize lipid alterations in periventricular white matter hyperintensities (pvWMHs).
- To demonstrate the utility of MALDI-IMS for analyzing lipids in formalin-fixed archival human brain tissue.
- To identify specific lipid ion species that differ between pvWMHs and normal appearing white matter (NAWM).
Main Methods:
- Utilized Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Imaging Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) on formalin-fixed human brain archival samples.
- Performed untargeted lipid analysis using positive or negative ion detection modes with specific matrices.
- Analyzed 21 tissue blocks from 11 post-mortem brains, comparing pvWMHs with NAWM.
Main Results:
- Successfully detected 116 lipid ion species across all samples.
- Identified significant differences in lipid expression for 31 lipid ion species between pvWMHs and NAWM.
- Demonstrated the capability of MALDI-IMS to distinguish regional lipid abnormalities in fixed archival tissues.
Conclusions:
- MALDI-IMS is effective for analyzing lipid profiles in fixed archival brain tissue, overcoming previous sample limitations.
- Specific lipid alterations are associated with pvWMHs, providing insights into their molecular pathology.
- Understanding these lipid changes may lead to novel therapeutic strategies for white matter lesions.
