Signaling Lipidomic Analysis of Thermogenic Adipocytes

Brown adipose tissue is a thermogenic organ that possesses anti-diabetic and anti-obesogenic potential. There has recently been growing interest on the secretory role of brown adipose tissue in regulating whole-body metabolism. Several signaling lipids, including 12-HEPE and 12,13-diHOME, have been shown to be secreted by brown adipose tissue and have demonstrated roles in regulating whole-body energy metabolism. Lipidomics platforms that broadly characterize the signaling lipidome can deconvolute the underlying biology of the lipid metabolites having a broad systemic impact on physiology. Herein, we describe how to perform and analyze LC-MS/MS signaling lipidomics on mature brown adipocytes.