Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2025

Shotgun Lipidomics of Rodent Tissues
Published on: November 18, 2022
Challenges and perspectives for naming lipids in the context of lipidomics
Michael Witting1,2, Adnan Malik3, Andrew Leach3
1Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Introduction:
Lipids are key compounds in the study of metabolism and are increasingly studied in biology projects. It is a very broad family that encompasses many compounds, and the name of the same compound may vary depending on the community where they are studied.
Objectives:
In addition, their structures are varied and complex, which complicates their analysis. Indeed, the structural resolution does not always allow a complete level of annotation so the actual compound analysed will vary from study to study and should be clearly stated. For all these reasons the identification and naming of lipids is complicated and very variable from one study to another, it needs to be harmonized.
Methods & Results:
In this position paper we will present and discuss the different way to name lipids (with chemoinformatic and semantic identifiers) and their importance to share lipidomic results.
Conclusion:
Homogenising this identification and adopting the same rules is essential to be able to share data within the community and to map data on functional networks.
Related Concept Videos
What are Lipids?
Lipids as Anchors
The carboxy-terminal of most of the prenylated proteins, such as Ras proteins, contains...
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Overview of Lipid Metabolism
Lipolysis: The Breakdown of Lipids:
Lipolysis is the process of breaking down lipids, particularly triglycerides, into glycerol and fatty acids. This process typically occurs in the adipose tissue and is triggered by various hormones, including glucagon and...

