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REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurological Biomarkers
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1403312
This article is part of the Research Topic Multi omics Approach to Identify the Neurological Biomarkers and Understand its Significance Associated with Immune Profiling and Bioenergetics View all articles

LC-MS metabolomics and lipidomics in cerebrospinal fluid from viral and bacterial meningitis: A review

Provisionally accepted
Ontefetse Plaatjie Ontefetse Plaatjie 1AM TUTU VAN FURTH AM TUTU VAN FURTH 2Martijn Van Der Kuip Martijn Van Der Kuip 2Shayne Mason Shayne Mason 1*
  • 1 North-West University, Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa
  • 2 VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    There is compelling evidence that a dysregulated immune inflammatory response in neuroinfectious diseases results in modifications in metabolic processes and altered metabolites, directly or indirectly influencing lipid metabolism within the central nervous system (CNS). The challenges in differential diagnosis and the provision of effective treatment in many neuroinfectious diseases are, in part, due to limited understanding of the pathophysiology underlying the disease. Although there are numerous metabolomics studies, there remains a deficit in neurolipidomics research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the connection between altered metabolites and changes in lipid metabolism. The brain is an inherently high-lipid organ; hence, understanding neurolipidomics is the key to future breakthroughs. This review aims to provide an integrative summary of altered cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites associated with neurolipid metabolism in bacterial and viral CNS infections, with a particular focus on studies that used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Lipid components (phospholipids) and metabolites (carnitine and tryptophan) appear to be the most significant indicators in both bacterial and viral infections. On the basis of our analysis of the literature, we recommend employing neurolipidomics in conjunction with existing neurometabolomics data as a prospective method to enhance our understanding of the cross link between dysregulated metabolites and lipid metabolism in neuroinfectious diseases.

    Keywords: lipidomics, Metabolomics, Meningitis, Encephalitis, Liquid Chromatography mass spectrometer (LC-MS), Neuroinflammation, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Central Nervous System

    Received: 19 Mar 2024; Accepted: 25 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Plaatjie, TUTU VAN FURTH, Van Der Kuip and Mason. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shayne Mason, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, North West, South Africa

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.