Alterations of lipid homeostasis in morbid obese patients are partly reversed by bariatric surgery

Besides its beneficial effect on weight loss, gastric bypass surgery (GBS) may impact the circulating levels of phospho- and sphingolipids. However, long-term effects have not been explored. To investigate alterations in lipidomic signatures associated with massive weight loss following GBS, we conducted direct infusion tandem mass spectrometry on serum and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) samples collected in a longitudinal cohort of morbid obese patients prior to GBS and 1 year following the surgery. A tissue-specific rearrangement of 13% among over 400 phospholipid and sphingolipid species quantified in serum and SAT was observed 1 year following GBS, with a substantial reduction of ceramide levels and increased amount of hexosylceramides detected in both tissues. The comparison of these new lipidomic profiles with the serum and SAT lipidomes established from an independent cohort of lean and morbid obese subjects revealed that GBS partly restored the lipid alterations associated with morbid obesity.