Lipidomics, biomarkers, and schizophrenia: A current perspective

Abstract

Lipidomics is a lipid-targeted metabolomics approach aiming at comprehensive analysis of lipids in biological systems. Recent technological progresses in mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and chromatography have significantly enhanced the developments and applications of metabolic profiling of lipids in more complex biological samples. As many diseases reveal a notable change in lipid profiles compared with that of healthy people, lipidomics have also been broadly introduced to scientific research on diseases. Exploration of lipid biochemistry by lipidomics approach will not only provide insights into specific roles of lipid molecular species in health and disease, but it will also support the identification of potential biomarkers for establishing preventive or therapeutic approaches for human health. This chapter aims to illustrate how lipidomics can contribute for understanding the biological mechanisms inherent to schizophrenia and why lipids are relevant biomarkers of schizophrenia. The application of lipidomics in clinical studies has the potential to provide new insights into lipid profiling and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying schizophrenia. The future perspectives of lipidomics in mental disorders are also discussed herein.