Abstract
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) exhibit a wide range of biological effects, many of which are mediated through the formation and actions of their bioactive metabolites. It is well appreciated that different PUFA balance affects inflammation and related diseases, and recent advances in mass spectrometry-based lipidomics technologies have revealed potential links between PUFA metabolism and biological phenotypes. Omega-3 PUFAs such as EPA and DHA are widely held to be beneficial in maintaining tissue homeostasis. To date, we've developed LC-MS/MS-based lipidomics system to monitor fatty acid metabolites comprehensively, and uncovered the roles of omega-3 PUFA metabolites in controlling inflammatory responses. I'll describe recent advances on omega-3 PUFA–derived mediators, mainly focusing on omega-3 oxygenation pathway that may hold a key for the beneficial effects of omega-3 PUFAs by structure-specific mechanisms in controlling inflammation and tissue homeostasis. Also I'll introduce our recent technology development, namely non-targeted lipidomics, that has a strong potential to search for lipids of interest globally, and to identify unknown lipid species in a non-biased fashion.
