Detailed characterization of alterations in the lipid profiles during autophagic cell death of leukemia cells

Abstract

In this study, a lipidomics approach based on UPLC-QqQ/MS was applied to profile various lipids in human leukemia cells undergoing autophagic cell death (ACD). Our previous study indicated that AIC-47, a 3-decenoic acid derivative, induced ACD in cancer cells that was associated with lipophagy. To understand the altered metabolism of lipids during ACD, 23 lipid classes were profiled in AIC-47 – treated cancer cells. Using the optimal UPLC conditions, individual lipid species were well separated in 30 min. By multiple reaction monitoring the 397 individual lipid species were successfully identified and quantified. 14 classes of lipid—TG, DG, PS, PG, PI, PA, LPC, LPE, LPS, LPG, LPI, Cer, Sa, and Cer1P—were upregulated and 3 classes—ChE, PC, and LPA—were downregulated in the ACD-induced cells compared to the control (P ≤ 0.05 by t-test). Other classes, such as PE, SM, dCer, So, So1P, and Sa1P, showed no changes. These results indicate that lipid metabolism of ACD is related to the mechanism of autophagy.