Evaluation of Lysophospholipid Measurement in Cerebrospinal Fluid Samples using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A quantification system for lysophospholipids (lysoPL) was developed, especially for blood samples, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). However, the lysoPL measurement in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has not been validated. Therefore, the present study aimed to validate the lysoPL measurement using CSF samples and to elucidate the possible clinical significance of the lysoPL measurement in CSF. For the validation, we observed a good precision and linearity in a sample with high lysoPL levels. The concentrations of lysoPL changed after incubation but the changes were smaller than those observed for serum samples. Moreover, we observed that the CSF levels of 16:0, 18:0 lysophosphatidylcholine, and 18:0, 18:1, and 20:4 lysophosphatidic acid were significantly higher in subjects with central nervous system invasion caused by hematological malignancies or carcinoma than in subjects with no abnormal CSF test results. In conclusion, an LC-MS/MS quantification system for lysoPL in CSF might be useful and could be applied to clinical laboratory testing.