Untargeted hair lipidomics: comprehensive evaluation of the hair-specific lipid signature and considerations for retrospective analysis

Lipidomics investigates the composition and function of lipids, typically employing blood or tissue samples as the primary study matrices. Hair has recently emerged as a potential complementary sample type to identify biomarkers in early disease stages and retrospectively document an individual’s me...

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Published in:Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2023-09, Vol.415 (23), p.5589-5604
Main Authors: van de Lavoir, Maria, da Silva, Katyeny Manuela, Iturrospe, Elias, Robeyns, Rani, van Nuijs, Alexander L. N., Covaci, Adrian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Analytical Chemistry
Biochemistry
Biomarkers
Blood
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemical properties
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Coenzyme Q10
Composition
Extraction (Chemistry)
Food Science
Forensic science
Hair
Health aspects
Laboratory Medicine
Lipid composition
Lipids
Liquid chromatography
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Measurement
Metabolomics
Methods
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Paper in Forefront
Workflow
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Summary:Lipidomics investigates the composition and function of lipids, typically employing blood or tissue samples as the primary study matrices. Hair has recently emerged as a potential complementary sample type to identify biomarkers in early disease stages and retrospectively document an individual’s metabolic status due to its long detection window of up to several months prior to the time of sampling. However, the limited coverage of lipid profiling presented in previous studies has hindered its exploitation. This study aimed to evaluate the lipid coverage of hair using an untargeted liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry lipidomics platform. Two distinct three-step exhaustive extraction experiments were performed using a hair metabolomics one-phase extraction technique that has been recently optimized, and the two-phase Folch extraction method which is recognized as the gold standard for lipid extraction in biological matrices. The applied lipidomics workflow improved hair lipid coverage, as only 99 species could be annotated using the one-phase extraction method, while 297 lipid species across six categories were annotated with the Folch method. Several lipids in hair were reported for the first time, including N-acyl amino acids, diradylglycerols, and coenzyme Q10. The study suggests that hair lipids are not solely derived from de novo synthesis in hair, but are also incorporated from sebum and blood, making hair a valuable matrix for clinical, forensic, and dermatological research. The improved understanding of the lipid composition and analytical considerations for retrospective analysis offers valuable insights to contextualize untargeted hair lipidomic analysis and facilitate the use of hair in translational studies. Graphical abstract
ISSN:1618-2642
1618-2650
DOI:10.1007/s00216-023-04851-z