The plasma lipidome of the Quaker parrot (Myiopsitta monachus)

Abstract

Dyslipidemias and lipid-accumulation disorders are common in captive parrots, in particular in Quaker parrots. Currently available diagnostic tests only measure a fraction of blood lipids and have overall problematic cross-species applicability. Comprehensively analyzing lipids in the plasma of parrots is the first step to better understand their lipid metabolism in health and disease, as well as to explore new lipid biomarkers. The plasma lipidome of 12 Quaker parrots was investigated using UHPLC-MS/MS with both targeted and untargeted methods. Targeted methods on 6 replicates measured 432 lipids comprised of sterol, cholesterol ester, bile acid, fatty acid, acylcarnitine, glycerolipid, glycerophospholipid, and sphingolipid panels. For untargeted lipidomics, precursor ion mass-to-charge ratios were matched to corresponding lipids using the LIPIDMAPS structure database and LipidBlast at the sum composition or acyl species level of information. Sterol lipids and glycerophospholipids constituted the majority of plasma lipids on a molar basis. The most common lipids detected with the targeted methods included free cholesterol, CE(18:2), CE(20:4) for sterol lipids; PC(36:2), PC(34:2), PC(34:1) for glycerophospholipids; TG(52:3), TG(54:4), TG(54:5), TG(52:2) for glycerolipids; SM(d18:1/16:0) for sphingolipids; and palmitic acid for fatty acyls. Over a thousand different lipid species were detected by untargeted lipidomics. Sex differences in the plasma lipidome were observed using heatmaps, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis. This report presents the first comprehensive database of plasma lipid species in psittacine birds and paves the way for further research into blood lipid diagnostics and the impact of diet, diseases, and drugs on the parrot plasma lipidome.

A Divergent Selection on Breast Meat Ultimate pH, a Key Factor for Chicken Meat Quality, is Associated With Different Circulating Lipid Profiles

“…In birds, most of lipid comparisons were primarily focused on plasma lipoprotein profiles, major lipid components such as total cholesterol, triglycerides and fatty acids, and muscular lipids ( Baéza et al, 2015 ; Mi et al, 2018 ; Osorio and Flores, 2018 ). To our knowledge, the only extensive characterization of the circulating lipidome in a bird was done on Quaker parrot ( Beaufrère et al, 2020 ). In this species, the PC and PE were also the major contributors to the serum lipidome with the addition of the fatty acids and conjugates class (FA), PA and PS.…”

Effects of a 0.3% cholesterol diet and a 20% fat diet on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in Quaker parrots (Myiopsitta monachus)

“…Of these three ceramides, only Cer(d18:1/16:0) with palmitic acid is a minor ceramide species in Quaker parrots. 12 It is noteworthy that certain ceramides, such as Cer(d18:1/16:0) and ceramide ratios, including Cer(d18:1/16:0) and Cer(d18:1/24:0), are frequently associated with cardiovascular diseases. 24,25 Cholesterol feeding impacted other lipid classes than ceramides, which showed broader effects on overall lipid metabolism.…”

“…Sunflower oil is rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), mainly linoleic acid (FA 18:2), and the standard pelletized diet of these parrots had a fatty acid profile dominated by oleic and linoleic acids in equal proportion. 12 Polyunsaturated fatty acids have largely had beneficial effects on human dyslipidemia, including n-3 and n-6 PUFAs. 27,28 In humans, a moderate amount of linoleic acid has been associated with a reduction in blood total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides compared with a diet rich in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.…”

“…The fatty acid profile of the control diet was also previously reported. 12 The diets were stored refrigerated in the dark until use.…”

“…10 Of these psittacine models, the Quaker parrot has been the most widely used as the species is prone to spontaneous dyslipidemia, 2 hepatic lipidosis, and other lipid disorders, 1 and readily develops hypercholesterolemia, lipoprotein abnormalities, and atherosclerosis with increased cholesterol feeding. 6 In addition, novel clinical lipidology methods such as advanced lipoprotein profiling 11 and clinical lipidomics 12 have been introduced in this species by the authors. These laboratory techniques will seek to both increase the tools available to understand lipid disorders in parrots and promote the search for novel plasma biomarkers and therapeutic targets.…”