Sterolomics: State of the art, developments, limitations and challenges

Abstract

Sterolomics can be thought of as the quantitative determination of the entire complement of molecules based on the cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene skeleton in a system. Mass spectrometry is the dominant analytical technology employed. In this article we highlight some pitfalls in analysis, data interpretation and annotation. We give our opinion on how some of these pitfalls can best be avoided. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: BBALIP_Lipidomics Opinion Articles edited by Sepp Kohlwein.

Understanding the Link between Lipid Diversity and the Biophysical Properties of the Neuronal Plasma Membrane

“…Due to the range of possible sugar headgroups, there is a substantial diversity of glycosphingolipids. Finally, sterols form a distinct class of membrane components with a characteristic backbone, with cholesterol (CHOL) being the dominant species in the majority of mammalian tissues . Additional levels of complexity are generated when lipids aggregate in large numbers to form membranes.…”

“…Finally, sterols form a distinct class of membrane components with a characteristic backbone, with cholesterol (CHOL) being the dominant species in the majority of mammalian tissues. 15 levels of complexity are generated when lipids aggregate in large numbers to form membranes. Differences in composition arise from variations in the molar ratios of individual lipid species, which affects the collective properties of the membrane.…”

The tumor-suppressor cholesterol metabolite, dendrogenin A, is a new class of LXR modulator activating lethal autophagy in cancers

“…Lipids account for more than 30,000 different species and specialists estimated that this number could grow up to 200,000 different species [97]. Among them, sterol lipids constitute an emerging class defining the sterolomics [98,99]. Cholesterol-5,6-epoxides (5,6-EC) was found at the center of a new branch [58] in the cholesterol pathway thanks to the recent identification of DDA [4].…”

Omics analysis of oxysterols to better understand their pathophysiological role

“…The employment of advanced liquid chromatography-and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS and GC-MS) techniques, in particular the implementation of protocols for analyte derivatization, have much improved oxysterol identification and quantification. Of note, the effectiveness of these procedures for quantitative measurement strictly relies on the proper use of internal standards, such as deuterated oxysterols, otherwise only approximate or semi-quantitative estimates are possible [8].…”