Laboratory for Metabolomics

Lipids constitute biological membranes and play a variety of other roles as energy sources, signaling molecules, and their precursors. Since lipids are extremely diverse molecules, the precise determination of different molecular species of lipid, a process we have termed “LipoQuality”, is important for understanding their functions in physiology and disease, and for discovering novel bioactive lipids that may have therapeutic benefits. In general, dysregulated lipid metabolism is associated with diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes, and hence there is great interest in furthering our understanding of how lipids behave within complex biological systems. We aim to elucidate the mechanisms that create, regulate, and recognize lipid diversity as a spatiotemporal system by constructing a “Lipidome Atlas”, as well as to identify diseases caused by its disturbance.

Innovations in spatial lipidomics technologies include post-ionization (MALDI-2), trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS), and optimization of matrix conditions and laser settings. This enables the highly sensitive detection of both positive and negative ions from the same tissue section, and further facilitates accurate structural annotation via MS/MS. This novel technology, termed ‘SMASH-imaging’ enables the visualization of 500 types of lipid molecules from the same section, capturing differences in metabolic states across spatial locations within tissue. It contributes to the construction of unbiased and highly accurate lipidome atlas.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying aging is crucial for enhancing healthy longevity. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of non-targeted lipidomics across multiple tissues at various life stages in mice to explore the potential link between aging and lipid metabolism. This study also provided a valuable resource for illuminating potential links between bacterial lipid metabolism and host tissue homeostasis associated with aging.