Abstract
The various molecular species of lysophosphatidic acid (lysoPA) exhibit different abilities to activate the various lysoPA receptors. The composition of lysoPAs is affected by factors such as external stimulants and diseases and their profile can change on an hourly basis. For this reason, studying lysoPAs or using lysoPAs as markers for the survey of disease requires analysis of individual lysoPA species. We examined methods for sensitive and selective detection of lysoPAs in a mixture of serum lipids using precursor ion scanning and neutral loss scanning. Precursor ion scanning of m/z 153 ([glycerophosphate-H-H2O]-) was effective for first screening of all acyl lysoPAs in lipid mixture due to its high sensitivity. This method has also some advantages such as high selectivity, and rapid and easy operation without conventional method by extraction from thin layer chromatography or separation using high performance liquid chromatography. We successfully detected acyl 22 : 6 (docosahexaenoyl) and 22 : 5 (docosapentaenoyl) lysoPAs in serum using this method.
