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lipidomics skill

/metabolomics/lipidomics

This skill helps analyze lipidomics data from LC-MS by identifying, quantifying lipids, and interpreting pathways with LipidSearch, MS-DIAL, LipidMaps.

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---
name: bio-metabolomics-lipidomics
description: Specialized lipidomics analysis for lipid identification, quantification, and pathway interpretation. Covers LC-MS lipidomics with LipidSearch, MS-DIAL, and LipidMaps annotation. Use when analyzing lipid classes, chain composition, or lipid-specific pathways.
tool_type: mixed
primary_tool: lipidr
---

## Version Compatibility

Reference examples tested with: ggplot2 3.5+, numpy 1.26+, pandas 2.2+, scanpy 1.10+, xcms 4.0+

Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
- Python: `pip show <package>` then `help(module.function)` to check signatures
- R: `packageVersion('<pkg>')` then `?function_name` to verify parameters

If code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed
package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.

# Lipidomics Analysis

**"Analyze my lipidomics data"** → Identify and quantify lipid species by class and chain composition, then perform differential lipid analysis and pathway interpretation.
- R: `lipidr::as_lipidomics_experiment()`, `de_analysis()`
- CLI: MS-DIAL or LipidSearch for lipid identification

## R Workflow with lipidr

```r
library(lipidr)
library(ggplot2)

# Load lipidomics data (LipidSearch or Skyline format)
lipid_data <- read_lipidomes('lipidsearch_export.csv', data_type = 'LipidSearch')

# Or from generic matrix
lipid_data <- as_lipidomics_experiment(
    data = intensity_matrix,
    sample_info = sample_metadata,
    lipid_info = lipid_annotations
)

# Data summary
print(lipid_data)
plot_samples(lipid_data, type = 'tic')
```

## Lipid Annotation

```r
# Parse lipid names to extract class, chain info
lipid_data <- annotate_lipids(lipid_data)

# View lipid classes
table(rowData(lipid_data)$Class)

# Chain length and saturation
plot_chain_distribution(lipid_data)
```

## Normalization

```r
# Normalize by internal standards
lipid_data <- normalize_pqn(lipid_data)

# Or by specific internal standard class
lipid_data <- normalize_istd(lipid_data, istd_class = 'PC')

# Log transform
lipid_data <- log_transform(lipid_data)

# QC plot
plot_samples(lipid_data, type = 'boxplot')
```

## Differential Analysis

```r
# Define contrasts
de_results <- de_analysis(
    lipid_data,
    Treatment - Control,
    measure = 'Area'
)

# Significant lipids
sig_lipids <- significant_lipids(de_results, p.cutoff = 0.05, logFC.cutoff = 1)

# Volcano plot
plot_results_volcano(de_results, show.labels = TRUE)

# By lipid class
plot_results_volcano(de_results, facet = 'Class')
```

## Enrichment Analysis

```r
# Lipid class enrichment
enrich_results <- lsea(de_results, rank.by = 'logFC')

# Plot enrichment
plot_enrichment(enrich_results, significant.only = TRUE)

# Chain length enrichment
chain_enrich <- lsea(de_results, rank.by = 'logFC', type = 'chain')
```

## Python Workflow with LipidFinder

**Goal:** Identify and classify lipid species from LC-MS data using PyOpenMS and LipidMaps annotation.

**Approach:** Load mzML data, extract features from XCMS preprocessing, annotate by m/z against LipidMaps, and parse lipid nomenclature for class and chain composition.

```python
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
from pyopenms import MSExperiment, MzMLFile

# Load mzML
exp = MSExperiment()
MzMLFile().load('lipidomics.mzML', exp)

# Extract lipid features (after XCMS preprocessing)
features = pd.read_csv('xcms_features.csv')

# LipidMaps annotation by m/z
def annotate_lipidmaps(mz, adduct='[M+H]+', tolerance_ppm=10):
    '''Query LipidMaps for lipid annotation'''
    import requests

    url = f'https://www.lipidmaps.org/rest/compound/lm_id/{mz}'
    # Note: Use local database for production
    return None  # Placeholder

# Parse lipid nomenclature
def parse_lipid_name(name):
    '''Extract lipid class and chain info from shorthand notation'''
    import re

    pattern = r'(\w+)\s*\((\d+):(\d+)(?:/(\d+):(\d+))?\)'
    match = re.match(pattern, name)

    if match:
        lipid_class = match.group(1)
        chain1_carbon = int(match.group(2))
        chain1_unsat = int(match.group(3))
        return {
            'class': lipid_class,
            'total_carbons': chain1_carbon,
            'total_unsaturation': chain1_unsat
        }
    return None

# Example
parse_lipid_name('PC(34:1)')  # {'class': 'PC', 'total_carbons': 34, 'total_unsaturation': 1}
```

## MS-DIAL Lipidomics

```r
# Load MS-DIAL alignment results
msdial_data <- read.csv('msdial_lipidomics.csv')

# Extract lipid annotations
lipid_cols <- c('Metabolite.name', 'Ontology', 'INCHIKEY', 'SMILES')
annotations <- msdial_data[, lipid_cols]

# Intensity matrix
intensity_cols <- grep('Area', colnames(msdial_data), value = TRUE)
intensities <- msdial_data[, intensity_cols]

# Filter by annotation confidence
high_conf <- msdial_data$Annotation.tag == 'Lipid'
msdial_lipids <- msdial_data[high_conf, ]
```

## Lipid Class Visualization

```r
library(ggplot2)

# Summarize by class
class_summary <- lipid_data %>%
    group_by(Class, Condition) %>%
    summarise(mean_intensity = mean(Intensity), .groups = 'drop')

# Stacked bar plot
ggplot(class_summary, aes(x = Condition, y = mean_intensity, fill = Class)) +
    geom_bar(stat = 'identity', position = 'fill') +
    scale_fill_brewer(palette = 'Set3') +
    theme_bw() +
    labs(y = 'Relative Abundance', title = 'Lipid Class Composition')
ggsave('lipid_class_composition.png', width = 8, height = 6)

# Heatmap by class
library(pheatmap)
class_matrix <- lipid_data %>%
    group_by(Class, Sample) %>%
    summarise(total = sum(Intensity), .groups = 'drop') %>%
    pivot_wider(names_from = Sample, values_from = total)

pheatmap(as.matrix(class_matrix[, -1]),
         labels_row = class_matrix$Class,
         scale = 'row',
         clustering_method = 'ward.D2')
```

## Pathway Mapping

```r
library(KEGGREST)

# Map lipids to KEGG pathways
lipid_kegg <- keggFind('compound', 'lipid')

# Glycerophospholipid metabolism
pathway_lipids <- keggGet('hsa00564')

# Or use LipidMaps classification
# Classes: FA, GL, GP, SP, ST, PR, SL, PK
```

## Saturation Analysis

```r
# Analyze saturation patterns
sat_analysis <- lipid_data %>%
    mutate(
        saturation_class = case_when(
            total_db == 0 ~ 'Saturated',
            total_db == 1 ~ 'Monounsaturated',
            TRUE ~ 'Polyunsaturated'
        )
    ) %>%
    group_by(Condition, saturation_class) %>%
    summarise(mean_abundance = mean(Intensity), .groups = 'drop')

ggplot(sat_analysis, aes(x = Condition, y = mean_abundance, fill = saturation_class)) +
    geom_bar(stat = 'identity', position = 'dodge') +
    theme_bw() +
    labs(title = 'Saturation Profile by Condition')
```

## Export Results

```r
# Comprehensive results table
results_table <- data.frame(
    Lipid = rownames(de_results),
    Class = rowData(lipid_data)$Class,
    Chain = rowData(lipid_data)$total_chain,
    logFC = de_results$logFC,
    pvalue = de_results$P.Value,
    adj_pvalue = de_results$adj.P.Val
)

write.csv(results_table, 'lipidomics_results.csv', row.names = FALSE)
```

## Related Skills

- xcms-preprocessing - Peak detection for lipidomics
- metabolite-annotation - General annotation methods
- statistical-analysis - Multivariate analysis
- pathway-mapping - Lipid pathway enrichment

Overview

This skill provides specialized lipidomics analysis for identification, quantification, and biological interpretation of lipids from LC-MS workflows. It covers common tools and formats (LipidSearch, MS-DIAL, LipidMaps, LipidFinder) and delivers pipelines for annotation, normalization, differential analysis, enrichment, and pathway mapping. The goal is reproducible processing from feature tables or mzML to publication-ready summaries and visualizations.

How this skill works

The skill ingests LC-MS outputs or preprocessed feature matrices, parses lipid shorthand names to extract class, chain length and unsaturation, and annotates features against LipidMaps or local databases. It includes normalization options (internal standard, PQN, log transform), statistical differential testing, lipid set enrichment (LSEA) and pathway mapping to KEGG or class ontologies. Outputs include volcano plots, class composition charts, saturation profiling, enrichment results and exportable result tables.

When to use it

  • You have LC-MS lipidomics data from LipidSearch, MS-DIAL or XCMS feature tables and need class-level and species-level interpretation.
  • You need to normalize by internal standards or perform robust sample QC and visualization before downstream stats.
  • You want to perform differential lipid analysis (group contrasts), identify significant lipids, and generate volcano plots.
  • You want lipid class or chain-length enrichment and to map altered lipids to metabolic pathways.
  • You need exportable, reproducible tables and figures for reporting or integration with metabolomics pipelines.

Best practices

  • Verify package versions (R: lipidr, ggplot2; Python: numpy, pandas, pyopenms) and adapt examples to your installed API.
  • Prefer local LipidMaps or curated MS-DIAL/LipidSearch exports for annotation rather than live web queries for production runs.
  • Normalize using appropriate internal standards or PQN and inspect QC plots (TIC, boxplots) before differential testing.
  • Filter by annotation confidence and remove low-quality features or contaminants prior to enrichment analysis.
  • Report adjusted p-values and effect sizes, and stratify results by lipid class and saturation for biological interpretation.

Example use cases

  • Load LipidSearch export, annotate lipids with lipidr, normalize by PC internal standards and run de_analysis to find treatment-specific lipids.
  • Process MS-DIAL alignment CSV, filter high-confidence lipid annotations, summarize class composition and save stacked bar and heatmap figures.
  • Annotate XCMS feature table using mzML-based feature extraction, match m/z to LipidMaps locally and parse shorthand names for chain-level analysis.
  • Perform saturation profiling by class to compare saturated vs polyunsaturated lipid changes across conditions and visualize as grouped bar plots.
  • Run lipid set enrichment (LSEA) on ranked differential results to discover enriched classes or chain-length patterns and map hits to KEGG pathways.

FAQ

Can I use this with raw mzML files?

Yes: use XCMS or PyOpenMS for feature extraction, then annotate features against LipidMaps or MS-DIAL/LipidSearch exports before analysis.

Which normalization is recommended?

Normalize by matched internal standards when available; otherwise use PQN and log-transform. Always evaluate QC plots after normalization.