The value of lipid biomarkers in coronary heart disease
: systematic review

  • Beatriz de Castro Frias (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

According to Instituto Nacional de Estatística, in 2017 in Portugal, 32 336 people die of cardiovascular diseases. The field of lipidomics has been gaining interest over the years to identify the feature of lipids that are associated with cardiovascular diseases, due to the ability of lipidomics to provide a detailed lipid profile, to characterize this type of pathologies. This review focus on lipidomic studies conducted to determine the link between lipid markers and coronary artery disease (CAD), including stable angina pectoris and, acute coronary syndromes (ACS) such as myocardial infarction, coronary calcification, and major adverse cardiac events. To determine these links between lipids and cardiovascular diseases, different articles were selected after researching in MedLine Databases from March to June 2020. The chosen articles had to mention a lipidomic comparison between cardiovascular pathologies and control groups. Based on the analysis of the different selected articles, the main mass spectrometry techniques used were HPLC and UHPLC. Through the analysis of different blood samples of healthy individuals, and from individuals that suffer from different pathologies, such as CAD and ACS, different lipid groups presented different levels between healthy individuals and patients that suffer from different pathologies. Sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids were the main lipid classes detected in abnormal levels in individuals that suffer from the previously mentioned pathologies. The relationship between sphingolipids and lipoproteins are a significant risk factor for CAD. Elevated levels of ceramides (Cer) and sphingomyelins (SM) can be linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases and the development of atherosclerosis. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is one of the most prominent glycerophospholipids. CAD and CAC have been linked to dysregulation of PC levels as well as increased activity and mass of PLA2, and the bioactive lipid products of various PLA2 isoforms have been linked to anti- and pro-atherosclerotic effects. Different lipid molecules of Cer, SM, and PC were also found in the selected articles, which can be used to detect cardiovascular diseases, such as CAD and ACS. To conclude, different sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids can be used to determine cardiovascular diseases, such as CAD and ACS. Despite that, the field lipidomics still needs to be more explored to analyze and give a proper diagnosis of these pathologies.
Date of Award31 Mar 2023
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorAntónio Silva Ferreira (Supervisor), Marina Felicidade Dias Neto (Co-Supervisor) & António de Sousa Barros (Co-Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Lipidomics
  • Lipids
  • Ceramides
  • Sphingomyelins
  • Phosphatidylcholine
  • HPLC
  • UHPLC
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Acute coronary syndrome

Designation

  • Mestrado em Engenharia Biomédica

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