OBJECTIVES Metabolic dysfunction is a common hallmark of the aging process and aging-related pathogenesis. Blood metabolites have been used as biomarkers for many diseases, including cancers, complex chronic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS In order to identify aging-related biomarkers from blood metabolites, we investigated the specific metabolite profiles of mouse sera from...

Very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) metabolism in astrocytes is important for the maintenance of myelin structure in central nervous system. To analyze the contribution of the ABCD1-dependent and -independent pathways to VLCFA metabolism in astrocytes, we prepared human glioblastoma U87 cells with a silencing of ABCD1 and primary astrocytes from abcd1-deficient mice, and measured fatty acid β-ox...

Loss of self-incompatibility (SI) in Arabidopsis thaliana was accompanied by inactivation of genes required for SI, including S-LOCUS RECEPTOR KINASE (SRK) and S-LOCUS CYSTEINE-RICH PROTEIN (SCR), coadapted genes that constitute the SI specificity-determining S haplotype. Arabidopsis accessions are polymorphic for PsiSRK and PsiSCR, but it is unknown if the species harbors structurally differen...

In the soft coral Sinularia leptoclados, 30 molecular species belonged to 4 glycerophospholipid classes, including 8 ethanolamine (PE), 13 choline (PC), 3 serine (PS) and 6 inositol (PI) were identified. PE 18:1e/20:4, PC 18:0e/20:4, PS 18:0e/24:5 PI 18:0/24:5 are most abundant with value of 69.94%, 45.57%, 68.55% 68.18%, respectively. The PE, PC, classes reported contain alkylacylphospholipid;...

We employ the diffusion map approach as a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique to extract a dynamically relevant, low-dimensional description of n-alkane chains in the ideal-gas phase and in aqueous solution. In the case of C8 we find the dynamics to be governed by torsional motions. For C16 and C24 we extract three global order parameters with which we characterize the fundamental dyna...

BACKGROUND Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neuropsychiatric condition in childhood. ADHD is a multifactorial trait with a strong genetic component. One neurodevelopmental hypothesis is that ADHD is associated with a lag in brain maturation. Sphingolipids are essential for brain development and neuronal functioning, but their role in ADHD pathogenesis is une...

Shiga toxins (Stxs) released by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) into the human colon are the causative agents for fatal outcome of EHEC infections. Colon epithelial Caco-2 and HCT-8 cells are widely used for investigating Stx-mediated intestinal cytotoxicity. Only limited data are available regarding precise structures of their Stx receptor glycosphingolipids (GSLs) globotriaosylceram...

Obesity was reported to cause kidney injury by excessive accumulation of sphingolipids such as sphingomyelin and ceramide. Sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2) is an important enzyme for hepatic sphingolipid homeostasis and its dysfunction is considered to result in fatty liver disease. The expression of SMS2 is also high in the kidneys. However, the contribution of SMS2 on renal sphingolipid metabo...

Profiles of saturated very-long-chain (> C22) fatty acids were studied in plasma, fibroblasts, erythrocytes, platelets, and leukocytes of patients affected by peroxisomal disorders such as Zellweger syndrome, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), and classic rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) and in controls. In Zellweger patients, the concentration of hexacosanoic acid (C26:0) and th...

Twentyeight fatty aclds (C8:O to C24:ln-9) were measured by gas chromattography In four normal cell lines (C3H/lOT1/2, CCD18Co, CCD25SK and CCD 37Lu) an# seven cancer cell llnes ( M I , Caov-3, LS-180, PC3, SK-MEL-28, SK-MES-l and U-87 MG). Results show that C20:4 n-6, C24:0, C24:l n-9, Polyunsaturated fatty aclds (PUFA'S) and ratlos of C20:4 n-6 to C20:5 m3 and C16:O to C18:l n-9 and steatlc t...