A snapshot of tissue glycerolipids.
The lipid membrane is the portal to the cell and its first line of defense against the outside world. Its plasticity, diversity and powers of accommodation in a myriad of environments, mirrored by the varied make up of the cells it protects, are unparalleled. Glycerophospholipids are one of its major components. In cell membranes the extracellular layer is mainly made up of positively charged glycolipids, while the intracellular one's main components are negatively charged. Advances in mass spectrometry have allowed the direct probing of tissues, and thus a direct approach to probing membranes make up was developed. Until recently most studies have focused on proteins. An overview of the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) for the direct analysis of phospholipids in various tissue is presented. Molecular ions corresponding to phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelin, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylinositols and sulfatides were mapped.
NIDA IRP, NIH, 5500 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. awoods@intra.nida.nih.gov
Amina S
AS
Woods
Hay-Yan J
HY
Wang
Shelley N
SN
Jackson
D000818:Animals; D020404:Glycerophospholipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
D020404:Glycerophospholipids; D006028:Glycosphingolipids