Tracking lipids to improve risk prediction in type 2 diabetes
Routine blood tests measure cholesterol and triglycerides, but these provide only a limited view of the many lipids circulating in the body. Elin Chorell and her research group at Umeå University develop detailed analyses that could improve our understanding of type 2 diabetes and help move lipid-based biomarkers closer to clinical use.
Blood lipids are important indicators of metabolic health. Our blood plasma contains hundreds of individual lipid species with different functions, many of which are not detected by conventional clinical tests. Elin Chorell and her research team work to get a deepened understanding of how lipids can be used as biomarkers.
Elin Chorell’s research focuses particularly on sphingolipids, including ceramides, a group of bioactive lipids associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Using advanced mass spectrometry-based lipidomics at SciLifeLab’s Metabolomics and Exposomics platform, they can identify patterns linked to metabolic disease and potential health risks.
“Routine clinical lipid tests provide important information about cardiometabolic risk, but they capture only a small part of the lipid biology in our circulation. Plasma contains hundreds of individual lipid species with different biological functions,” says Elin Chorell, SciLifeLab researcher and Associate Professor at Umeå University.
Her research group is now taking the analysis a step further. Instead of measuring lipids only in bulk plasma, they study sphingolipids within specific lipoprotein fractions. This makes it possible to investigate where potentially harmful lipids are metabolised and how they interact with proteins.
“By combining detailed molecular lipid profiling with established lipoprotein biology, we hope to refine risk stratification and better understand where potentially harmful or protective lipid signals are carried in the circulation”, she says.
Analysing how small molecules are distributed between different biological compartments holds potential to reveal important information, but is technically challenging. The study adds a spatial and functional dimension to lipidomics by connecting molecular measurements with the location and biological context of the lipids. This is done in collaboration with SciLifeLab’s unit Swedish Metabolomics Centre in Umeå. The goal is to develop robust, targeted measurements of selected lipids and lipoprotein fractions that could complement the current risk markers that are used in clinical risk markers used within healthcare.
To learn more about how to take the findings into clinical praxis, Elin Chorell is heading for a research sabbatical research period with Professor Peter Meikle and colleagues at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne as their work has contributed to the development of lipidomic risk scores and progression towards clinical applications.
“The aim is not simply to transfer an assay, but to strengthen our ability to translate advanced lipidomics into clinically useful tools.”
Chorell’s group works closely with the Swedish Metabolomics Centre in Umeå, combining clinical and biological research questions with the infrastructure’s expertise in mass spectrometry and metabolomics. Together, they are developing robust methods for analysing sphingolipids and ceramides, from broad lipid profiling to targeted measurements and the analysis of specific lipoprotein fractions.
“Elin Chorell’s group contributes significantly to the development of SMC’s lipidomics portfolio. The collaboration is very much a two-way exchange, combining her group’s expertise in lipid biology and lipidomics with SMC’s expertise in analytical robustness and method standardization. We also greatly value Elin’s strong focus on translating lipidomics towards healthcare applications – an important step that is difficult for an infrastructure unit to achieve on its own,” says Annika Johansson, Head of Unit at the Swedish Metabolomics Centre.
Their work reflects the broader ambition of SciLifeLab’s Translation to Healthcare initiative: to connect advanced molecular technologies and national research infrastructure with clinical research, helping move promising discoveries towards tools that can ultimately benefit patients.
“For me, this illustrates an important role for SciLifeLab infrastructure going forward. Not only enabling advanced discovery research but helping create the analytical robustness and scalability needed to move promising findings closer to clinical application” Elin Chorell concludes.
