Lipidomic analysis identifies age-disease-related changes and potential new biomarkers in brain-derived extracellular vesicles from metachromatic leukodystrophy mice

Background Recent findings show that extracellular vesicle constituents can exert short- and long-range biological effects on neighboring cells in the brain, opening an exciting avenue for investigation in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Although it is well documented that extracellular vesicles contain many lipids and are enriched in sphingomyelin, cholesterol, phosphatidylserines and phosphatidylinositols, no reports have addressed the lipidomic profile of brain derived EVs in the context of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, a lysosomal storage disease with established metabolic alterations in sulfatides. Methods In this study, we isolated and characterized the lipid content of brain-derived EVs using the arylsulfatase A knockout mouse as a model of the human condition. Results Our results suggest that biogenesis of brain-derived EVs is a tightly regulated process in terms of size and protein concentration during postnatal life. Our lipidomic analysis demonstrated that sulfatides and their precursors (ceramides) as well as other lipids including fatty acids are altered in an age-dependent manner in EVs isolated from the brain of the knockout mouse. Conclusions In addition to the possible involvement of EVs in the pathology of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, our study underlines that measuring lipid signatures in EVs may be useful as biomarkers of disease, with potential application to other genetic lipidoses.

Automated summary

This study investigates the lipid content of brain-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in a mouse model of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy. The results suggest age-dependent alterations of sulfatides and their precursors in EVs, providing potential biomarkers for the disease.