Optimized integration of metabolomics and lipidomics reveals brain region-specific changes of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in type 1 diabetic mice with cognitive decline

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) causes cognitive decline and has been associated with brain metabolic disorders, but its potential molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying T1D-induced cognitive impairment using metabolomics and lipidomics. We developed an optimized integration approach of metabolomics and lipidomics for brain tissue based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and analyzed a comprehensive characterization of metabolite and lipid profiles in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of T1D male mice with cognitive decline (T1DCD) and age-matched control (CONT) mice. The results show that T1DCD mice had brain metabolic disorders in a region-specific manner relative to CONT mice, and the frontal cortex exhibited a higher lipid peroxidation than the hippocampus in T1DCD mice. Based on metabolic changes, we found that microglia was activated under diabetic condition and thereby promoted oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, leading to neuronal injury, and this event was more pronounced in the frontal cortex than the hippocampus. Our results suggest that brain region-specific shifts in oxidative stress and neuroinflammation may contribute to diabetic cognitive decline, and the frontal cortex could be the more vulnerable brain region than the hippocampus.