# Lipidomic Signature of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Peripheral Artery Disease

## TL;DR

This study identifies unique lipid patterns in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and peripheral artery disease, suggesting potential biomarkers for these vascular conditions.

## Contribution

The study provides the first comprehensive lipidomic analysis of plasma from AAA and PAD patients, revealing distinct lipid profiles that could serve as biomarkers.

## Key findings

- Phospholipids with polyunsaturated fatty acids are reduced in AAA and PAD due to oxidative degradation.
- Plasmalogen species of PC and PE, which act as antioxidants, are also decreased in these diseases.
- Sphingomyelin (SM) and ceramide (Cer) levels increase in both AAA and PAD patients.

## Abstract

Vascular diseases are powerful predictors of cardiovascular
mortality,
but they are typically under-recognized and undertreated. There is
no effective treatment for either abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
or peripheral artery disease (PAD). Lipids are key molecules in cardiovascular
diseases and good candidates for diagnosis, monitoring, and risk prediction;
nonetheless, there is very limited information on the lipidomic profile
of patients with AAA and PAD. We hypothesize that lipids can be used
as important prognostic biomarkers of these diseases. To achieve this,
we conducted a comprehensive C18 reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatography-tandem
mass spectrometry (LC-MS) lipidomic analysis of plasma from AAA and
PAD patients undergoing open repair surgery, comparing their profiles
with those of healthy controls. We observed a marked reduction in
PAD and AAA of the relative abundances of (i) phospholipids bearing
polyunsaturated fatty acids, primarily from the phosphatidylcholine
(PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylinositol (PI)
classes, mostly due to oxidative degradation, and (ii) plasmalogen
species of PC and PE, which serve as endogenous antioxidants. On the
other side, SM and Cer increased in both pathologies. Our findings
suggest a dysregulation of the lipid metabolism in AAA and PAD compared
with healthy controls that deserves exploration to unravel putative
biomarkers or disease hallmarks.