Phospholipid and Phospholipidomics in Health and Diseases

Abstract

Phospholipids (PLs), which are of diverse chemical structures, are not only the major component of the plasma membranes, but also act as signaling mediators for various biological processes and play key roles in energy storage. Cumulative evidence indicates that alterations in composition, distribution, and metabolism of various PLs in cells, tissues, as well as body fluids, have been implicated in various human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. The techniques for comprehensive characterization and quantification of PLs (defined here as phospholipidomics) has made profound advances and been rapidly expanded, which not only allows for “visualizing” and understanding the changes of hundreds to thousands of individual PL species, but also facilitates to explore the underlying mechanisms of PLs metabolism and their (dys) regulation in health and disease. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge with respect to the structural diversity and cellular function of PLs, as well as their implication with various diseases, and the strategies for phospholipidomics analysis and some recent advances.