November 29, 2024
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Keio University
RIKEN
An international joint research group, including Researcher Hiroaki Takeda, Researcher Yuki Matsuzawa, and graduate student Manami Takeuchi from the Graduate School of Engineering, and Professor Hiroshi Tsugawa from the Department of Life Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Visiting Scientist at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences); Professor Makoto Arita of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Keio University (Team Leader at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences); and Researcher Takeshi Harayama of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC; CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm) in France, has developed "MS-DIAL 5," a mass spectrometry data analysis program that performs lipid diversity profiling, isomeric identification of lipid structures, and visualization of lipid localization. This has enabled them to capture the diversity and localization of lipids in the mouse eye, partially clarifying the molecular mechanism by which very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs)—lipids considered crucial for maintaining visual function—are incorporated into specific sites of phosphatidylcholine (PC), a type of phospholipid that constitutes cell membranes. In an era where various mass spectrometry methods are available for capturing lipid metabolism, "MS-DIAL 5," which enables the integrated analysis of diverse (multimodal) data, is expected to be utilized as an information analysis program that will innovatively accelerate basic and applied research in the life sciences.
This research was published in the scientific journal "Nature Communications" on November 28.
Please see below for the full press release.