Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential

Abstract Background Cardiolipin (CL) is a signature phospholipid of mitochondria that maintains the integrity of mitochondrial membrane and supports proper mitochondrial function. Alterations in CL level and composition can impair or, conversely, improve mitochondrial function and bioenergetics, bot...

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Main Authors: Pavels Dimitrijevs, Ilona Freiliba, Andrejs Pčolkins, Marcis Leja, Pavel Arsenyan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:Lipids in Health and Disease
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-025-02499-5
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author Pavels Dimitrijevs
Ilona Freiliba
Andrejs Pčolkins
Marcis Leja
Pavel Arsenyan
author_facet Pavels Dimitrijevs
Ilona Freiliba
Andrejs Pčolkins
Marcis Leja
Pavel Arsenyan
author_sort Pavels Dimitrijevs
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Cardiolipin (CL) is a signature phospholipid of mitochondria that maintains the integrity of mitochondrial membrane and supports proper mitochondrial function. Alterations in CL level and composition can impair or, conversely, improve mitochondrial function and bioenergetics, both of which are critical for cancer metabolism. However, conflicting reports on CL levels across different cancer types and limited research using human patient samples limit our understanding of its diagnostic potential. Methods This cross-sectional study explores CL concentrations in gastric and colon cancer tissues using a CL-specific fluorescent probe MitoCLue and compares them to adjacent healthy tissues. Results In gastric cancer, CL levels showed no significant differences between tumor and healthy tissues, suggesting that metabolic shifts in gastric cancer do not affect total CL content. In contrast, colon cancer tissues exhibited a significant 33% increase in CL levels, indicating mitochondrial adaptation and/or increase in mitochondrial mass in colon cancer. No associations were found between CL levels and patient demographic factors; although a weak correlation with body mass index was noted. Conclusion We successfully applied MitoCLue to quantitatively assess the total CL level in healthy and tumor tissues from patients with gastric or colon cancer. The distinct CL levels in gastric and colon cancer suggest that there are cancer-type specific mitochondrial adaptations, reflecting unique bioenergetic demands and metabolic reprogramming pathways. While a 33% increase in CL levels was observed in colon cancer tissues compared to healthy adjacent tissues, this modest variation may limit its utility as a standalone biomarker.
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spelling doaj-art-dbd94064dee24b118e2043619693f1bb2025-08-20T02:16:45ZengBMCLipids in Health and Disease1476-511X2025-02-0124111310.1186/s12944-025-02499-5Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potentialPavels Dimitrijevs0Ilona Freiliba1Andrejs Pčolkins2Marcis Leja3Pavel Arsenyan4Latvian Institute of Organic SynthesisInstitute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, University of LatviaInstitute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, University of LatviaInstitute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, University of LatviaLatvian Institute of Organic SynthesisAbstract Background Cardiolipin (CL) is a signature phospholipid of mitochondria that maintains the integrity of mitochondrial membrane and supports proper mitochondrial function. Alterations in CL level and composition can impair or, conversely, improve mitochondrial function and bioenergetics, both of which are critical for cancer metabolism. However, conflicting reports on CL levels across different cancer types and limited research using human patient samples limit our understanding of its diagnostic potential. Methods This cross-sectional study explores CL concentrations in gastric and colon cancer tissues using a CL-specific fluorescent probe MitoCLue and compares them to adjacent healthy tissues. Results In gastric cancer, CL levels showed no significant differences between tumor and healthy tissues, suggesting that metabolic shifts in gastric cancer do not affect total CL content. In contrast, colon cancer tissues exhibited a significant 33% increase in CL levels, indicating mitochondrial adaptation and/or increase in mitochondrial mass in colon cancer. No associations were found between CL levels and patient demographic factors; although a weak correlation with body mass index was noted. Conclusion We successfully applied MitoCLue to quantitatively assess the total CL level in healthy and tumor tissues from patients with gastric or colon cancer. The distinct CL levels in gastric and colon cancer suggest that there are cancer-type specific mitochondrial adaptations, reflecting unique bioenergetic demands and metabolic reprogramming pathways. While a 33% increase in CL levels was observed in colon cancer tissues compared to healthy adjacent tissues, this modest variation may limit its utility as a standalone biomarker.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-025-02499-5Colon cancerGastric cancerCardiolipinBiomarkerDiagnostic
spellingShingle Pavels Dimitrijevs
Ilona Freiliba
Andrejs Pčolkins
Marcis Leja
Pavel Arsenyan
Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
Lipids in Health and Disease
Colon cancer
Gastric cancer
Cardiolipin
Biomarker
Diagnostic
title Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
title_full Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
title_fullStr Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
title_full_unstemmed Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
title_short Total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer: evaluating the prognostic potential
title_sort total cardiolipin levels in gastric and colon cancer evaluating the prognostic potential
topic Colon cancer
Gastric cancer
Cardiolipin
Biomarker
Diagnostic
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-025-02499-5
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