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Updated: Jul 8, 2025
Shotgun Lipidomics of Rodent Tissues
Published on: November 18, 2022
Plasma lipidomics reveal systemic changes persistent throughout early life following a childhood burn injury
Eva Kierath1,2,3, Monique Ryan1, Elaine Holmes1,4,5
1Australian National Phenome Centre, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Harry Perkins Institute, 5 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch, Perth, WA 6150, Australia.
Insights
Children with non-severe burns show altered plasma lipid profiles, including higher lysophosphatidylethanolamines and lower fatty acids. These lipidome changes may indicate long-term health risks following pediatric burn injury.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pediatric Medicine
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Non-severe pediatric burns can lead to unexpected long-term health issues, even with good acute recovery.
- The underlying mechanisms connecting burns to sustained negative health outcomes remain unclear.
- Metabolic and immune alterations are suspected contributors to long-term morbidity after burns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if plasma lipidome alterations are associated with long-term health status in children post-burn.
- To explore the potential of lipidomic changes as biomarkers for sustained health impacts after non-severe pediatric burns.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of plasma lipidome in 33 children (aged 5-8 years) with prior non-severe burns (aged 1-3 years).
- Comparison with 21 age- and gender-matched healthy, non-injured controls.
- Quantification of plasma lipids using reversed-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
Main Results:
- 838 lipid species from 19 subclasses were analyzed.
- Significantly elevated levels of lysophosphatidylethanolamines and phosphatidylethanolamines were observed in burn survivors.
- Significantly decreased concentrations of myristic, palmitic, and palmitoleic acids were found in the plasma of children with a history of burn injury.
Conclusions:
- Long-term alterations in plasma lipid profiles may offer insights into the mechanisms of poor health outcomes after non-severe burns.
- Further research correlating lipidomic changes with long-term pathology could improve understanding of post-burn secondary morbidity.
- Identifying these lipidomic signatures may pave the way for clinical interventions to mitigate the long-term health burden of burn trauma.
Background:
Non-severe paediatric burns can result in poor long-term health outcomes. This occurs even in cases with good acute burn-related outcomes, including minimal scarring. The mechanisms that underpin the transition from non-severe burn to sustained negative long-term health impacts are currently unknown. However, sustained metabolic and immune changes have been observed in paediatric burn studies, suggesting these changes may be important.The plasma lipidome consists of a rich pool of bioactive metabolites that play critical roles in systemic processes including molecular signalling and inflammation. We hypothesised that changes in the plasma lipidome may reflect underlying changes in health status and be linked to long-term health after burn trauma.
Methods:
This study analysed the lipidome in children who had previously experienced a non-severe burn, compared to non-injured controls. Thirty-three participants were recruited between the ages of 5 and 8 years who had experienced a non-severe burn between the ages of 1 and 3 years. Plasma samples were also collected from a non-injured, healthy, age and gender matched control group (n = 21). Plasma lipids were measured using reversed-phase liquid chromatographymass spectrometery (LC-MS).
Results:
In total 838 reproducible lipid species from 19 sub-classes passed quality control procedures and progressed to statistical analysis. Analysis of individual lipid metabolites showed significantly higher concentrations of lysophosphatidylethanolamines and phosphatidylethanolamines, and significantly lower concentrations in myristic, palmitic and palmitoleic acids in the plasma of those who had experienced burn injury compared to controls.
Conclusion:
Long-term changes in the lipid profile may give insight into the mechanisms underlying poor long-term health subsequent to non-severe burn injury. Further work to investigate the relationship between long-term pathology and lipidomic changes may lead to a better understanding of the causes of secondary morbidity post-burn and to clinical intervention to reduce the long-term health burden of burn trauma.
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