Summary
Published in Environment International (2024), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Pascuali, Natalia, et al. Delineating lipidomic landscapes in human and mouse ovaries: Spatial signatures and chemically-induced alterations via MALDI mass spectrometry imaging
Delineating lipidomic landscapes in human and mouse ovaries: Spatial signatures and chemically-induced alterations via MALDI mass spectrometry imaging
Research Overview
The ovarian lipidome — its abundance, spatial distribution, and vulnerability to environmental chemicals — has been largely unexplored. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging, this study mapped lipids across healthy mouse and human ovarian tissue.
The obesogenic chemical tributyltin, at environmentally relevant exposures, had a profound and region-specific effect on the mouse ovarian lipidome, predominantly altering lipid species in antral follicles and oocytes — pointing to targeted disruption of lipid homeostasis in exactly the regions that matter most for fertility. Integrated lipidomic and bioinformatic analyses documented the extent of the disruption.
Key Discoveries
- MALDI mass spectrometry imaging mapped the lipidome of healthy mouse and human ovaries
- Tributyltin at environmentally relevant doses disrupted the mouse ovarian lipidome region-specifically
- Antral follicles and oocytes were the predominant sites of lipid disruption
