Broad selection of lipids

Structural Lipids

Hundreds of different phospholipid molecular species are present in cells, featuring variations in their polar headgroup or acyl tails that give them unique properties to participate in membrane fusion and fission, generate cell signaling lipids, and help secrete lipoproteins. Sterols and sphingomyelins are also essential structural components of membranes.

Keywords: Phosphatidylcholines, Phosphatidylethanolamines, Phosphatidylglycerols, Phosphatidylinositols, Phosphatidylserines, Phosphatidic acids, Sphingosylphosphorylcholines (Sphingomyelins), Sterol lipids

Lipogenesis & Lipid Storage

During lipogenesis, fatty acids are produced through the repeated addition of two-carbon units (from acetyl-CoA). Fatty acids can then be esterified to glycerol to ultimately form triacylglycerol, or to cholesterol to form cholesterol esters.

Triacylglycerols function as fatty acid storage depots that are readily accessible for use in cellular respiration when carbohydrates are not available. They are stored inside lipid droplets, which also serve as a reservoir for cholesterol necessary for membrane formation and maintenance.

Lipid droplets maintain energy and redox homeostasis, and they help support endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane integrity. They channel fatty acids to mitochondria, help produce lipid mediators, regulate lipolysis and lipophagy, and protect against lipotoxicity. Fatty acids are mobilized from storage through the action of lipases.

Lipid Transport

Fatty acids can diffuse across plasma membranes because of their lipophilicity but must be transported through the bloodstream within lipoproteins (e.g., chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL, and HDL), or attached to fatty acid-binding proteins. Lipoprotein lipases release free fatty acids that are then transported into cells, primarily through protein carrier-mediated pathways including fatty acid translocase (CD36), fatty acid transport proteins, and fatty acid-binding proteins.

Keywords: Lipoproteins, Lipoprotein lipases, Fatty acid translocases, Fatty acid, transporters, Fatty acid binding proteins, PCSK9, Cholesterol ester transfer proteins

Bioactive Lipids

Lipids play key roles as mediators of a variety of processes in cells, tissues, and organisms. For instance, physical and chemical stimuli initiate the release of arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids, resulting in the synthesis of eicosanoids, mediators of inflammation such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, or lipoxins. Other phospholipids (e.g., lyso-PA, polyphosphoinositides, or PAF) and fatty acyls (e.g., resolvins or the endocannabinoid anandamide) are also bioactive lipids, as are members of other classes such as sterols (e.g., hydroxycholesterol, steroid hormones, or bile acids), glycerolipids (e.g., diacylglycerides or the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol), prenols (e.g., ubiquinone), or sphingolipids (e.g., ceramides or sphingosine-1-phosphate).

Keywords: Cyclooxygenase pathway, Cytochrome P450 pathways, Endocannabinoids, Monoacylglycerols, Diacylglycerols, Glycerophospholipids, Lipoxygenase pathways, Prenol lipids, Sphingolipids, Sterol lipids

Inflammation

Prostaglandins are among the numerous soluble mediators produced by immune cells during an inflammatory response, and their synthesis is the target of NSAIDs, one of the most widely used classes of pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of pain and chronic inflammatory diseases. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes enhance innate and adaptive immune activity and are implicated in numerous inflammatory disorders, yet PGD2 and PGE2 also demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects. A set of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs)—lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, and maresins—serve to actively switch off the inflammatory process.

Keywords: EETs, Leukotrienes, Prostaglandins, Specialized pro-resolving mediators

Dyslipidemias, Cardiovascular Disease, & Metabolic Disorders

Excess LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, and other lipid abnormalities are among the causal factors of coronary heart disease, giving rise to atherosclerosis and a gradual obstruction of vessels and diminishing blood flow. Excess lipid accumulation and disordered lipid metabolism are also related to the pathogenesis of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD/NASH.

PPARs mediate the effects of a variety of lipid ligands on gene transcription, targeting genes involved in lipid transport and metabolism, thereby making them targets for developing therapeutics for these diseases.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Cholesterol metabolism, Lipid & lipoprotein storage & transport, Metabolic diseases, Platelet aggregation, PPARs

Lipids in Cancer

Lipids are major players in cancer development and growth through mechanisms such as increased lipid oxidation, acylation of proteins, disrupted lipid metabolism in autophagy, or dysregulated angiogenesis and proliferation signals mediated by lipids.

Keywords: Angiogénesis, autophagy, cell death, cell migration and metastasis, tumor microenvironment.

Potential Roles of Lipids in COVID-19

You can find more information here.

Lipid Peroxidation & Ferroptosis

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Such oxidation can stress the redox balance in biological systems and is involved in many pathologies including atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. It is associated with the oxidation of PUFAs, such as arachidonic and adrenic acyl chains, in phospholipids through enzymatic and non-enzymatic processes, which generates ferroptotic signals that navigate a cell towards programmed death. Cayman provides several convenient methods to detect the presence of lipid ROS, and our scientists are experts in building the tools needed to study how oxidized lipids are involved in the ferroptotic process.

Keywords: lipid peroxidation, lipoxygenases, oxidized phospholipids, 15-LO inhibitors, fatty acid desaturases

Lipid Storage Diseases

Lipid storage diseases are a group of inherited metabolic disorders in which harmful amounts of lipids accumulate in the lysosomes of various tissues and cells due to deficiencies of specific enzymes necessary for their proper metabolism. Over time, this excessive accumulation can cause permanent damage to the brain, peripheral nervous system, liver, spleen, and bone marrow.

Cayman offers many glycosphingolipids as well as specific enzyme inhibitors and LC-MS/MS enzyme activity assay workflows that are ideal for studies involving these sphingolipidoses.

Keywords: Sphingolipid biomarkers, Lysosomal acid lipase tools, Lysosome labeling & detection

Skin Barrier

The epidermal lipid matrix made up of cholesterol, free fatty acids, and very long-chain ceramides in the outermost layer of skin is crucial to the skin’s barrier function by preventing excessive water loss and blocking environmental compounds from permeating the epidermal and dermal layers where they would cause an immune response.

Sebaceous lipids including triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and free fatty acids also offer waterproofing, antioxidant, and antimicrobial functions important for the epidermal barrier. Variations in carbon chain lengths and double bonds can provide a wide variety of skin barrier ceramides.

Cayman offers cis-6-hexadecenoic acid (sapienic acid) and esterified ω-hydroxy sphingosines (EOS) as research tools to help better understand the arrangement of lipids in the skin barrier.

Lipid-Based Drug Delivery

Drug delivery systems using lipid-based nanoparticles (e.g., liposomes, lipid nanoparticles) offer significant advantages in drug delivery, boosting bioavailability, reducing toxicity, and enabling the administration of therapeutics that are prone to instability.

Kits to get you started in preparing nanoparticles and all the separate components (cationic lipids, PEGylated lipids, etc.)

Drug discovery

APIs