Aneurysm Ostium Angle: A Predictor of the Need for Stent as Assistance for Endovascular Aneurysm Coiling in Internal Carotid Artery Sidewall Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is no satisfactory parameter that can predict the need for assistant devices for endovascular aneurysm coiling. Our aim was to evaluate the utility of MOA as a predictor of the need for stent-assisted coiling in ICA sidewall aneurysms

LipidXplorer: A Software for Consensual Cross-Platform Lipidomics

LipidXplorer is the open source software that supports the quantitative characterization of complex lipidomes by interpreting large datasets of shotgun mass spectra. LipidXplorer processes spectra acquired on any type of tandem mass spectrometers; it identifies and quantifies molecular species of any ionizable lipid class by considering any known or assumed molecular fragmentation pathway independently of any resource of reference mass spectra. It also supports any shotgun profiling routine, from high throughput top-down screening for molecular diagnostic and biomarker discovery to the targeted absolute quantification of low abundant lipid species. Full documentation on installation and operation of LipidXplorer, including tutorial, collection of spectra interpretation scripts, FAQ and user forum are available through the wiki site at: https://wiki.mpi-cbg.de/wiki/lipidx/index.php/Main_Page

Lipidomic Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles from the Pathogenic Phase of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Background: Fungal extracellular vesicles are able to cross the cell wall and transport molecules that help in nutrient acquisition, cell defense, and modulation of the host defense machinery.Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present a detailed lipidomic analysis of extracellular vesicles released by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis at the yeast pathogenic phase. We compared data of two representative isolates, Pb3 and Pb18, which have distinct virulence profiles and phylogenetic background. Vesicle lipids were fractionated into different classes and analyzed by either electrospray ionization- or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found two species of monohexosylceramide and 33 phospholipid species, including phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylglycerol. Among the phospholipid-bound fatty acids in extracellular vesicles, C181 predominated in Pb3, whereas C18:2 prevailed in Pb18. the prevalent sterol in Pb3 and Pb18 vesicles was brassicasterol, followed by ergosterol and lanosterol. Inter-isolate differences in sterol composition were observed, and also between extracellular vesicles and whole cells.Conclusions/Significance: the extensive lipidomic analysis of extracellular vesicles from two P. brasiliensis isolates will help to understand the composition of these fungal components/organelles and will hopefully be useful to study their biogenesis and role in host-pathogen interactions.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)National Institutes of Health (NIH)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Texas El Paso, Dept Biol Sci, Border Biomed Res Ctr, El Paso, TX 79968 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 06/05095-6FAPESP: 07/04757-8FAPESP: 07/59768-4CNPq: 301666/2010-5National Institutes of Health (NIH): 5G12RR008124-16A1National Institutes of Health (NIH): 5G12RR008124-16A1S1National Institutes of Health (NIH): G12MD007592Web of Scienc

Advances in structure elucidation of small molecules using mass spectrometry

The structural elucidation of small molecules using mass spectrometry plays an important role in modern life sciences and bioanalytical approaches. This review covers different soft and hard ionization techniques and figures of merit for modern mass spectrometers, such as mass resolving power, mass accuracy, isotopic abundance accuracy, accurate mass multiple-stage MS(n) capability, as well as hybrid mass spectrometric and orthogonal chromatographic approaches. The latter part discusses mass spectral data handling strategies, which includes background and noise subtraction, adduct formation and detection, charge state determination, accurate mass measurements, elemental composition determinations, and complex data-dependent setups with ion maps and ion trees. The importance of mass spectral library search algorithms for tandem mass spectra and multiple-stage MS(n) mass spectra as well as mass spectral tree libraries that combine multiple-stage mass spectra are outlined. The successive chapter discusses mass spectral fragmentation pathways, biotransformation reactions and drug metabolism studies, the mass spectral simulation and generation of in silico mass spectra, expert systems for mass spectral interpretation, and the use of computational chemistry to explain gas-phase phenomena. A single chapter discusses data handling for hyphenated approaches including mass spectral deconvolution for clean mass spectra, cheminformatics approaches and structure retention relationships, and retention index predictions for gas and liquid chromatography. The last section reviews the current state of electronic data sharing of mass spectra and discusses the importance of software development for the advancement of structure elucidation of small molecules