Lipidomics in the Study of Hypertension in Metabolic Syndrome.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The entire gamut of changes in the lipid profile that precede, predict, and correlate with hypertension in metabolic syndrome is unknown.

RECENT FINDINGS: The power, resolution, and accuracy of lipidomic assay technologies have brought us to the threshold of another information explosion. Understanding of hypertension and its pathophysiology especially within the setting of metabolic syndrome has been greatly improved by recent lipidomic studies. Hypertension in metabolic syndrome differs from other forms of hypertension, and recent studies have highlighted this difference in many interesting ways. Mounting evidence points towards a derangement of the sphingolipid pathway that may trigger the precursor clinical conditions of hypertension as well as hypertension itself. In this review, we summarize the available published literature in this field and propose a unifying hypothesis based on the published evidence. Recent studies have created substantial interest and advances in the understanding of hypertension in metabolic syndrome. Studies that directly test these concepts within a lipidomic framework are urgently needed.