Differential Mobility Spectrometry-Based Cardiolipin Analysis.

Cardiolipins (CL) are special lipids in many respects. First of all, CL are composed of four fatty acids linked by two phosphatidic acids, which provide CL a unique molecular structure. Secondly, in eukaryotic cells they are specific to a single organelle, mitochondria, where they are also synthetized. CL are one of the most abundant lipid classes in mitochondria, mainly localized in the inner membrane. They are key determinants of mitochondrial health and homeostasis by modulating membrane integrity and fluidity, mitochondrial shapes, and metabolic pathways. Disturbances in mitochondrial CL composition can lead to tissue malfunction and diseases. It is therefore important to develop analytical tools to study the mitochondrial lipidome, and more particularly the CL. The method described here allows the quantification of cardiolipins at the sum composition level in isolated mitochondria or in liver tissue by flow injection analysis coupled to differential mobility spectrometry (FIA-DMS), also known as DMS-based shotgun lipidomics.