Mapping lipid distribution in rat sciatic nerve using imaging mass spectrometry

Abstract

Lipids are essential components of cells and tissues. They play active and central roles in signaling and many biological functions and therefore their dysregulation is very often the first signal of function alteration. Here we describe the protocol to analyze not only lipid expression in rat sciatic nerve but also the lipid distribution along its different anatomic areas. The protocol combines results from MALDI-IMS and UHPLC-MS/MS to identify and cartography the maximum number of lipid species in the tissue.