JLR Patient-Oriented and Epidemiological Research
Rare DEGS1 variant significantly alters de novo ceramide synthesis pathway
The de novo ceramide synthesis pathway is essential to human biology and health, but genetic influences remain unexplored. The core function of this pathway is the generation of biologically active ceramide from its precursor, dihydroceramide. Dihydroceramides have diverse, often protective, biological roles; conversely, increased ceramide levels are biomarkers of complex disease. To explore the genetics of the ceramide synthesis pathway, we searched for deleterious nonsynonymous variants in the genomes of 1,020 Mexican Americans from extended pedigrees.Mitochondrial dysfunction-related lipid changes occur in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease progression
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comprises fat-accumulating conditions within hepatocytes that can cause severe liver damage and metabolic comorbidities. Studies suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to its development and progression and that the hepatic lipidome changes extensively in obesity and in NAFLD. To gain insight into the relationship between lipid metabolism and disease progression through different stages of NAFLD, we performed lipidomic analysis of plasma and liver biopsy samples from obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and from those without NAFLD.Statin action enriches HDL3 in polyunsaturated phospholipids and plasmalogens and reduces LDL-derived phospholipid hydroperoxides in atherogenic mixed dyslipidemia
Atherogenic mixed dyslipidemia associates with oxidative stress and defective HDL antioxidative function in metabolic syndrome (MetS). The impact of statin treatment on the capacity of HDL to inactivate LDL-derived, redox-active phospholipid hydroperoxides (PCOOHs) in MetS is indeterminate. Insulin-resistant, hypertriglyceridemic, hypertensive, obese males were treated with pitavastatin (4 mg/day) for 180 days, resulting in marked reduction in plasma TGs (−41%) and LDL-cholesterol (−38%), with minor effects on HDL-cholesterol and apoAI.Statin action favors normalization of the plasma lipidome in the atherogenic mixed dyslipidemia of MetS: potential relevance to statin-associated dysglycemia
The impact of statin treatment on the abnormal plasma lipidome of mixed dyslipidemic patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS), a group at increased risk of developing diabetes, was evaluated. Insulin-resistant hypertriglyceridemic hypertensive obese males (n = 12) displaying MetS were treated with pitavastatin (4 mg/day) for 180 days; healthy normolipidemic age-matched nonobese males (n = 12) acted as controls. Statin treatment substantially normalized triglyceride (−41%), remnant cholesterol (−55%), and LDL-cholesterol (−39%), with minor effect on HDL-cholesterol (+4%).
