title: Multi-OMICS: a critical technical perspective on integrative lipidomics approaches.
abstract: During the past decades, high-throughput approaches for analyzing different molecular classes such as nucleic acids, proteins, metabolites, and lipids have grown rapidly. These approaches became powerful tools for getting a fundamental understanding of biological systems. Considering each approach and its results separately, relations and causal connections between these classes have no chance to be revealed, since only separate molecular snapshots are provided. Only a combined approach, not fully established yet, with the integration of the corresponding data, might yield a comprehensive and complete understanding of biological processes, such as crosstalk and interactions in signaling pathways. Taking two or more omics-methods into consideration for analysis is referred to as a multi-omics approach, which is gradually evolving. In this critical note, we briefly discuss the relevance, challenges, current state, and potential of data integration from multi-omics approaches, with a special focus on lipidomics analysis, listing the advantages and gaps in this field. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: BBALIP_Lipidomics Opinion Articles edited by Sepp Kohlwein.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kopczynski
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coman
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany.
authors.forename: Rene P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Zahedi
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany; West German Heart and Vascular Center Essen, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany; Medizinische Fakultät, Medizinische Proteom-Center (MPC), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Department of Chemistry, College of Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sickmann
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften-ISAS-e.V., Otto-Hahn-Str. 6b, Dortmund, Germany. Electronic address: Robert.Ahrends@isas.de.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahrends
mesh_terms: D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids