Broad-based targeted lipidomic analysis of dental fluorosis population in an adult population

Dental fluorosis, as a common chronic fluoride toxicity oral disease, is mainly caused by long-term excessive intake of fluoride, which seriously affects the aesthetics and function of patients' teeth. In recent years, with the rapid development of metabolomics technology, lipidomics, as an important means to study the changes in lipid metabolism in organisms, has shown great potential in revealing the mechanisms of disease development. As a major component of cell membranes and a signaling molecule, metabolic disorders of lipids are closely related to a variety of diseases, but the specific mechanism of action in dental fluorosis is still unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to systematically analyze the differences in lipid profiles between dental fluorosis patients and healthy populations by using broad-based targeted lipidomics technology to provide new perspectives on the pathogenesis of dental fluorosis. To this end, the researchers compared the salivary lipidome of healthy participants with the salivary micro lipidome of dental fluorosis patients. Their saliva samples were collected, and advanced broad-based targeted lipidomics technology, combined with a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system, was used to comprehensively detect and quantify the lipids in the samples. The lipid data were processed and analyzed by bioinformatics to identify the unique patterns of changes in the lipid profiles of dental fluorosis patients and to verify the significance of these changes using statistical methods. Several glycerophospholipids, fatty acyls, and sphingolipids exhibited marked alterations in dental Among these, glycocholic acid, LPA (18:4), taurolithocholic acid-3-sulfate, lithocholic acid-3-sulfate, and taurochenodeoxycholic acid-3-sulfate were observed between dental fluorosis patients and healthy controls. taurochenodeoxycholic acid was significantly decreased, while PA (12:0_12:0) levels were significantly elevated. These findings suggest that These findings suggest that disturbances in lipid metabolism play a crucial role in developing dental fluorosis. •Lipidomic analysis: Salivary lipid metabolism is significantly altered in patients with dental fluorosis, revealing the effects of fluoride exposure.•Phospholipid downregulation: Key phospholipids (PA, PC, PE) are significantly reduced in patients with dental fluorosis, indicating impaired cell membrane integrity.•Increased bile acids: Salivary bile acid levels