Lipidomics update - March 2011

Lipid of the month

Eicosapentaenoic acid
This nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acid is found almost exclusively in oily fish. It has beneficial cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory effects, and may offer therapeutic potential for a range of diseases.

Research highlights

• Protein structure: How autotaxin selects its lipid

  Two teams have solved the crystal structure of autotaxin — the enzyme which synthesizes the important lipid mediator lysophosphatidic acid. The insights might help researchers design novel autotaxin inhibitors.

• Lipid biosynthesis: The missing PGP-phosphatase link

  Using an expression cloning strategy combined with lipidomic methods, researchers have uncovered a “missing” phosphatase enzyme which is part of an important phospholipid pathway.

• Cardiovascular biology: Fooling the heart into repair

  A lipid-based bubble with the molecule phosphatidylserine on its surface can be taken up by mouse macrophages and may help repair heart blood vessels.

• Endocannabinoids: A healthy diet is good for LTD

  Mice fed diets low in omega-3s showed behavioural signs of depression and anxiety and had reduced synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex due to the decoupling of the cannabinoid receptors from certain proteins that normally bind to them.

• Cell signalling: Targeting kinases

  Kinase-associated 1 domains drive MARK/PAR1 kinases to membrane targets by binding acidic phospholipids.

Events calendar

• LIPID MAPS Annual Meeting 2011: Lipidomics Impact on Cell Biology, Cancer, and Metabolic Disease

  2 - 3 May, 2011

• Lipid Biology and Lipotoxicity

  15 - 20 May, 2011

more events