LC-MS-Based Lipidomic Analysis of Serum Samples from Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM)

With the development of social economy, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is becoming a severe health problem globally.

To systematically understand the lipid metabolism in T2DM, we applied untargeted lipidomics to the serum of T2DM patients and control group using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS).

Over two thousand molecular features were detected by our approach, of which 222 lipid species in positive ion mode and 145 species in negative were reliably identified based on precise molecular weights and MS/MS patterns. Multivariate analysis was adopted to differentiate T2DM patients and the control group using principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). The dysregulated lipid species were found and their significance in pathophysiology was discussed. Correlation analysis of selected lipids and important clinical variables was performed and addressed.

This study unveils several new lipids and pathways considerably involved in T2DM and provides novel insights into understanding the pathogenesis underlying T2DM.