title: The lipid profile of brown adipose tissue is sex-specific in mice.
abstract: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ with a vital function in small mammals and potential as metabolic drug target in humans. By using high-resolution LC-tandem-mass spectrometry, we quantified 329 lipid species from 17 (sub)classes and identified the fatty acid composition of all phospholipids from BAT and subcutaneous and gonadal white adipose tissue (WAT) from female and male mice. Phospholipids and free fatty acids were higher in BAT, while DAG and TAG levels were higher in WAT. A set of phospholipids dominated by the residue docosahexaenoic acid, which influences membrane fluidity, showed the highest specificity for BAT. We additionally detected major sex-specific differences between the BAT lipid profiles, while samples from the different WAT depots were comparatively similar. Female BAT contained less triacylglycerol and more phospholipids rich in arachidonic and stearic acid whereas another set of fatty acid residues that included linoleic and palmitic acid prevailed in males. These differences in phospholipid fatty acid composition could greatly affect mitochondrial membranes and other cellular organelles and thereby regulate the function of BAT in a sex-specific manner.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: miriam.hoene@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoene
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China. Electronic address: muranmyself@126.com.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Centre Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: hans-ulrich.haering@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Hans-Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Häring
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Centre Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: cora.weigert@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Cora
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weigert
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China. Electronic address: xugw@dicp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guowang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Centre Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: rainer.lehmann@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lehmann
keywords: Brown adipose tissue; Female and male mice; Gonadal fat; Subcutaneous fat; Tandem-MS lipidomics; White adipose tissue