Lipidomics

Abstract

Lipids are hydrophobic or amphiphilic low‐molecular‐weight substances with a low solubility in water. Glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol are the building blocks of cellular membranes, and triacylglycerols are the major molecular storage forms of metabolic energy. Various lipids serve as signaling substances either as first or second messengers in signal transduction; as autocrinic, paracrinic, or endocrinic regulators; or are covalently bound to cellular proteins. Several diseases are caused by, or at least associated with, alterations in lipid metabolism, such as inherited disorders of lipid metabolism, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, or Alzheimer's disease.