Table 2.
Summary of adipose tissue lipidomics studies in humans.
| Category | Subjects studied | Experimental interventions or conditions (sample size) | Sample type | Lipidomic findings | Refs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise | n = 36, male subjects |
Exercise (4 months of endurance training and then gradually changed to interval training, 7 months) Exercise (n = 15) vs. Sedentary (n = 21) |
SAT | ↑ | Fatty acid 18:0 in exercised subjects | 42 |
| ↓ | Fatty acid 16:1 in exercised subjects | |||||
| n = 46, NAFLD patients |
Exercise (high-intensity interval training based on the ergospirometry test, 12 weeks) Exercise (n = 21) vs. Sedentary (n = 25) |
SAT | ↑ | LPE (16:0, 18:0) in exercised NAFLD patients | 49 | |
| n = 72, male/female overweight elderly subjects |
Exercise (daily physical activity level of at least 30 min of moderate intensity and included both aerobic and strength training, 6 months) Exercise (n = 43) vs. Sedentary (n = 30) |
SAT | ↑ | Fatty acid 18:2, omega-6 PUFAs in exercised overweight elderly subjects | 39 | |
| n = 27, female subjects aged 65–80 |
Exercise (combined aerobic and resistance training, 1 h, 3 times a week, 4 months) After Exercise+Placebo vs. Before Exercise+Placebo |
SAT | ↑ | Total PAHSA, 5-PAHSA, 9-PAHSA, 10-PAHSA, 11-PAHSA in exercised elderly women | 53 | |
| Anti-diabetic drugs | n = 7, male/female T2D patients |
Pioglitazone (45 mg/day, 6 months) Pioglitazone (n = 7) vs. Veh (n = 0) |
SAT | ↑ | SFA-containing phospholipids in pioglitazone-treated patients | 72 |
| ↓ | Free AA, cardiolipin, AA-containing PE P-, and AA-containing phospholipids in pioglitazone-treated patients | |||||
| Obesity | n = 86, male/female subjects |
Lean (BMI 21.6–24.6 kg/m2; age = 68 ± 10.9 years; male/female = 3/2) Obesity (BMI 43.9–46.3 kg/m2; age = 45 ± 2.2 years; male/female = 26/55) Obesity (n = 81) vs. Lean (n = 5) |
SAT | ↑ | PUFA (20:4, 20:5, 22:5, 22:6)-containing TG, PUFA (20:4, 20:5, 22:6)-containing PC P-, and sphingadiene Cer (SPB 18:2;O2) in obesity | 2 |
| ↓ | MUFA-containing TG and SFA-containing TG in obesity | |||||
| VAT | ↑ | PUFA (20:4, 20:5, 22:5, 22:6)-containing TG, C18 acyl chain-containing PE P-, and sphingadiene Cer (SPB 18:2;O2) in obesity | ||||
| ↓ | MUFA-containing TG and SFA-containing TG in obesity | |||||
| n = 53, male/female subjects |
Lean (BMI 24.4–26.22 kg/m2) Obesity (BMI 41.59–44.73 kg/m2) Pathogenic obesity (BMI 46.87–50.31 kg/m2) Pathogenic obesity (n = 18) vs. Obesity (n = 18) vs. Lean (n = 17) |
VAT | ↑ |
PE P- (16:0/20:4) and LPE P- (16:0, 18:0, 18:1) in pathogenic obesity compared to obesity or lean PC P- (16:0/16:0, 16:0/20:4) and PE P- (18:0/20:4) in pathogenic obesity compared to obesity |
95 | |
| ↓ | LPE P-18:0 in obesity compared to lean | |||||
| n = 13 pairs of monozygotic twins n = 8 pathogenic obese subjects |
Low BMI (BMI < 25 kg/m2) High BMI (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) Pathogenic obesity (BMI 47.0–60.4 kg/m2) BMI discordant twin pairs (n = 13; 15.2 kg (20%, 5.3 kg/m2) heavier than the nonobese twin) Pathogenic obesity (n = 8) |
SAT | ↑ | AA-containing PE P- in obesity compared to lean | 86 | |
| ↓ | PE P- (16:0/20:4, 18:1/20:4) in pathogenic obesity compared to obesity or lean | |||||
| VAT | ↓ | PE P- (16:0/20:4, 18:1/20:4) in pathogenic obesity compared to obesity or lean | ||||
| n = 20 subjects |
Lean (BMI < 25 kg/m2) Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) Obesity (n = 10) vs. Lean (n = 10) |
VAT | ↑ | Cer (14:0, 16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, 22:1) in obesity | 101 | |
| n = 71, male/female subjects |
Nonobesity (BMI 18.5–26.9 kg/m2) Morbid obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m2) Low IR or IS state (FG < 100 mg/dL and HOMA-IR < 2.5) High IR state (FG levels 100–125 mg/dL or HOMA-IR > 3.4) Obesity with low IR (n = 11) vs. Obesity with high IR (n = 25) |
VAT | ↑ | C18 acyl chain-containing phospholipid and, LPE 18:2 in IS obesity compared to IR obesity | 93 | |
| n = 48, male/female subjects | BMI 17.96–27.03 kg/m2 | SAT | ↑ | PUFA-containing PC P- and PUFA-containing PE P- *positive correlation with BMI | 94 | |
| ↓ | LPE P- 18:0 *negative correlation with BMI |
Elevated levels of lipid species corresponding to distinct physiological conditions are denoted by an upward arrow (↑), whereas reduced levels of lipid species are represented by a downward arrow (↓).
AA arachidonic acid, BMI body mass index, Cer ceramide, FG fasting plasma glucose, IR insulin resistance, IS insulin sensitive, LPE lysophosphatidylethanolamine, LPE P- plasmenyl LPE, MUFA monounsaturated fatty acid, NAFLD nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, PAHSA palmitic acid esters of hydroxystearic acid, PC P- plasmenyl PC, PE P- plasmenyl PE, PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acid, SAT subcutaneous adipose tissue, SFA saturated fatty acid, TG triglyceride/triacylglycerol, T2D type 2 diabetes, VAT visceral adipose tissue, Veh vehicle.