A lipidomics roadmap: from basic research to societal challengesMedical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Department of Dermatology, CDL SKINMAGINE, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic.
Health Research Institute La Fe (IIS La Fe), Valencia, Spain.
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Center of Membrane Biochemistry and Lipid Research, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus and Faculty of Medicine of TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Center of Membrane Biochemistry and Lipid Research, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus and Faculty of Medicine of TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Senckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz, Görlitz, Germany.
Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany; Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.
Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Faculty of Medical Sciences, Goce Delcev University, Stip, North Macedonia.
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Lipotype GmbH, Dresden, Germany.
Aston University & Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence, Birmingham, UK.
Lipotype GmbH, Dresden, Germany.
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar.
Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, Neuherberg, Germany; Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, München, Germany.
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
CESAM- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
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2026 (English)In: Nature Communications, E-ISSN 2041-1723, Vol. 17, no 1, article id 4778Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Lipidomics, a rapidly evolving discipline at the interface of biology and analytical chemistry, seeks to comprehensively characterize the lipid composition of biological systems. Driven by advances in mass spectrometry, chromatography and computational analysis, lipidomics has enabled the high-resolution mapping of lipid networks and their functional dynamics across molecular, cellular and organismal scales. In biomedical research, lipidomics is emerging as a powerful platform for biomarker discovery, enabling early diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of cancer, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases. The field is also reshaping drug discovery by uncovering lipid-mediated pathways, identifying novel therapeutic targets, and refining assessments of drug efficacy and safety. Beyond medicine, lipidomic analyses are redefining food and nutrition science by elucidating how dietary lipids influence metabolic health and disease risk. In parallel, environmental and ecological lipidomics are emerging as powerful frameworks for assessing ecosystem health, tracking the impact of pollutants and exploring the biological consequences of climate change. Such approaches are also informing the discovery of sustainable lipid resources and the development of novel biotechnological and agricultural innovations. With its rapidly expanding analytical repertoire and cross-disciplinary relevance, lipidomics is poised to make substantial contributions to both fundamental biology and applied science. This Perspective aims to synthesise the current state of the field, delineate major analytical and conceptual challenges, and outline future directions for translating lipidomic knowledge into tangible societal and environmental benefits.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2026. Vol. 17, no 1, article id 4778
National Category
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Molecular Biology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-129187DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-73797-4ISI: 001779734100006PubMedID: 42209482OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-129187DiVA, id: diva2:2066375
Funder
German Research Foundation (DFG), FE 1236/5-1; FE 1236/8-1; TRR 412/1 – 535081457EU, Horizon Europe, 101073062German Research Foundation (DFG), 565977762
Note
Funding Agencies:
This publication is based on work from COST Action EpiLipidNET, CA19105, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). M.F. lab is supported by “Sonderzuweisung zur Unterstützung profilbestimmender Struktureinheiten” by the SMWK to TUD, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FE 1236/5-1; FE 1236/8-1; TRR 412/1 – 535081457), and Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (031L0315A, DEEP_HCC; 01EJ2205A, FERROPath). M.H. acknowledges the support of ERC Adv grant No. 101095860. M.Witting acknowledges funding by The European Union Horizon 2020, Marie Curie Actions, grant number 101073062. L.G. acknowledges the support of the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri-Dipartimento per la Coesione Territoriale e per il Sud (CURI project, n. E67G23000200001). J.G. acknowledges the Ministry of Education and Science within the project “Excellence Initiative - Research University”. J.B.M acknowledges the support of MetaboHUB infrastructure funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche under the France 2030 programme (MetaboHUB ANR-11-INBS-0010; MetEx+ ANR-21-ESRE-0035; MetaboHUB (JVCE) ANR-24-INBS-0012). B.Y. acknowledges the grants of the Research Council of Finland (Decision No. 356891) and Business Finland (Decision No. 1675/31/2023). X.H. acknowledges the partial support of National Institute on Aging grants R01AG061872, R01AG085545, P30AG013319, and P30AG044271. M.R.D. lab is supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P., under the project/grant UID/50006 + LA/P/0094/2020 (doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0094/2020 (Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e Mar (CESAM)) and UID/50006 - Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde - Tecnologias e Processos Limpos. J.W. acknowledges the National Institutes of Health (R35GM152060). S. Petrović. acknowledges the support of The Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, Contract No. 451-03-136/2025-03/200015. P.P. acknowledges funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant number 565977762). F.G. gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism of Austria and the National Foundation for Research, Technology, and Development of Austria to the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Skin Multimodal Imaging of Aging and Senescence.
2026-06-052026-06-052026-06-09Bibliographically approved