This article is available online at http://www.jlr.org system ( 2, 3 ), cocaine causes liver injury in human and animal models ( 4-8 ). As diminished liver function contributes to various adverse health effects, including the dysfunction of CNS and cardiovascular system and the disruption of intermediary metabolism, cocaine-induced hepatotoxicity has been linked to the mortality in cocaine abusers ( 9, 10 ). Previous investigations of cocaine-elicited pathological and metabolic changes in animal models have yielded important insights on the initiation and development of cocaineinduced liver injury ( 11-13 ). First, biotransformation and bioactivation of cocaine and its metabolites are required to initiate cocaine-induced toxic events ( 14 ). Among those defi ned cocaine metabolism pathways, the hydrolysis reactions produce relatively nontoxic metabolites, whereas cytochrome P450 (P450) and fl avin-containing monooxygenases (FMO)-mediated N -demethylation and N -oxidation reactions are responsible for generating reactive metabolites, such as N -hydroxynorcocoaine and norcocaine nitroxide. Second, oxidative stress-related events, including covalent binding to proteins ( 15 ), glutathione depletion ( 16 ), and lipid peroxidation ( 17 ), occur in the cocaine-treated liver, although their roles in cocaine-induced hepatotoxicity are not fully defi ned. Lastly, the disruption of normal function of mitochondria and other intracellular organelles as well as the dysregulation of signaling pathways in cell death Abstract During cocaine-induced hepatotoxicity, lipid accumulation occurs prior to necrotic cell death in the liver. However, the exact infl uences of cocaine on the homeostasis of lipid metabolism remain largely unknown. In this study, the progression of subacute hepatotoxicity, including centrilobular necrosis in the liver and elevation of transaminase activity in serum, was observed in a three-day cocaine treatment, accompanying the disruption of triacylglycerol (TAG) turnover. Serum TAG level increased on day 1 of cocaine treatment but remained unchanged afterwards. In contrast, hepatic TAG level was elevated continuously during three days of cocaine treatment and was better correlated with the development of hepatotoxicity. Lipidomic analyses of serum and liver samples revealed time-dependent separation of the control and cocaine-treated mice in multivariate models, which was due to the accumulation of long-chain acylcarnitines together with the disturbances of many bioactive phospholipid species in the cocaine-treated mice. An in vitro function assay confi rmed the progressive inhibition of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation after the cocaine treatment. Cocaine, as one of the most widely abused psychological stimulants, is well known for causing addictive dependence and sudden death in its users ( 1 ). Besides its toxicity on the central nervous system (CNS) and the cardiovascular