Qibin Zhang, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Center for Translational Biomedical Research
University of North Carolina Greensboro

Hosted by Lingjun Li

Novel Mass Spectrometric Approaches Toward Analysis of Glycolipids

Glycolipids, also termed glycosphingolipids, are biologically important glycoconjugates that play crucial roles in health and diseases. Abnormal metabolism of these molecules has been implicated in numerous diseases such as lysosomal storage diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, among others. The specific role of glycolipids in these pathologies is only partly understood. Specifically, the role of the glycan head group and the lipid backbone in biology remains elusive but current knowledge has revealed the importance of both features in biological processes. As such, analysis of these molecules should be carried out at the intact molecular level. To advance this relatively underexplored research field, it is necessary to develop accurate, sensitive, reproducible, and high-throughput methodologies for intact glycolipid analysis. In this presentation, novel mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods such as ozone-induced dissociation mass spectrometry, isobaric labeling, and differential isotope labeling as applied to these molecules will be introduced in characterization of C=C unsaturation in fatty acyls, multiplexed quantitation of gangliosides and accurate quantitation of neutral glycolipids. Application of these methods to uncover interesting biology will be discussed, in particular the changes of neutral glycolipids in a macrophage model of Gaucher’s disease, and potential role of gangliosides as endosomal receptor for hepatitis A virus. Taken together, these methodologies have potential to contribute and advance our understanding of the functional roles played by glycolipids in biology.