Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology

Abstract

Although lipids of human atherosclerotic plaques have been analyzed previously, target-focused measurements restricted to individ-ual lipid classes remain insufficient to reveal the global lipid imbalances in atherosclerosis. We have adapted a liquid extraction-based surface sampling device for the analysis of plaque lipids from tissue sections. For quantitation, shotgun lipidomics was performed on lipid extracts using the different scan options of a triple quadrupole mass spectrom-eter. In total, 150 lipid species from 9 different classes were identified, of which 24 were detected in endarterectomies only. A comparison of 28 carotid endarterectomy specimens revealed lipid signatures of symp-tomatic-asymptomatic lesions as well as stable-unstable plaque areas. This comprehensive analysis of plaque lipids highlights the importance of measuring individual lipid species rather than lipid classes to obtain insights into the lipid heterogeneity within atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusions: This comprehensive analysis of plaque lipids demon-strates the potential of lipidomics for unraveling the lipid heterogene-ity within atherosclerotic lesions.