Metabolic changes in myometrium associated with adenomyosis revealed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based high-throughput targeted lipid quantitative profiling.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the lipidomic alterations in the myometrial tissue from adenomyotic lesions?

DESIGN

This was a two-centre, prospective, observational study conducted between July 2023 and June 2024. Forty-four premenopausal patients were enrolled: 22 patients with adenomyosis confirmed by post-operative pathology and 22 control participants undergoing hysterectomy for benign conditions without adenomyosis. Myometrial tissue samples were collected during surgery, and lipid extraction performed by liquid-liquid extraction and lipidomic profiling carried out using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry platform. Data analysis included multivariate statistical methods, such as principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, to identify lipid metabolites differentially expressed between the adenomyosis and control groups.

RESULTS

A total of 1100 lipid species were identified, with 84 showing significant differences between adenomyosis patients and control participants. Of these, 76 lipids were upregulated and eight were down-regulated. The highest differentially expressed lipid content was mainly concentrated in glyceropholipids, with notable alterations in acylcarnitines and lysophosphatidylcholines.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals significant lipidomic changes in adenomyosis, with upregulated acylcarnitines and elevated lysophosphatidylcholines.