Effects of Sex and Western Diet on Spatial Lipidomic Profiles for the Hippocampus, Cortex, and Corpus Callosum in Mice Using MALDI MSI

Diet is inextricably linked to human health and biological
functionality.
Reduced cognitive function among other health issues has been correlated
with a western diet (WD) in mouse models, indicating that increases
in neurodegeneration could be fueled in part by a poor diet. In this
study, we use matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry
imaging (MALDI MSI) to spatially map the lipidomic profiles of male
and female mice that were fed a high-fat, high-sucrose WD for a period
of 7 weeks. Our findings concluded that the cortex and corpus callosum
showed significant lipid variation by WD in female mice, while there
was little to no variation in the hippocampus, regardless of sex.
On the other hand, lipid profiles were significantly affected by sex
in all regions. Overall, 83 lipids were putatively identified in the
mouse brain; among them, HexCer(40:1;O3) and PE(34:0) were found to
have the largest statistical difference based on diet for female mice
in the cortex and corpus callosum, respectively. Additional lipid
changes are noted and can serve as a metric for understanding the
brain’s metabolomic response to changes in diet, particularly
as it relates to disease.