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.

Optimized combination of MALDI MSI and immunofluorescence for neuroimaging of lipids within cellular microenvironments.

Proper neurological function relies on the cellular and molecular microenvironment of the brain, with perturbations of this environment leading to neurological disorders. However, studying the microenvironments of neurological tissue has proven difficult because of its inherent complexity. Both the cell type and metabolomic underpinnings of the cell have crucial functional roles, thus making multimodal characterization methods key to acquiring a holistic view of the brain's microenvironment.