Systemic analyses show that the biosynthesis and spatial distribution of fatty acids, triglycerides and lipids differed in male and female mice and humans

Abstract

Recent work has shown that the prevalence and character of metabolic diseases differs between male and female mammals. This strongly suggests that the control mechanisms that govern, for example lipid metabolism, differ between the sexes. If true, a one-size-fits-all approach to treating metabolic disease will not be effective in all patients. We tested three hypotheses to understand how the lipid metabolism of male and female mammals may differ. First, whether endogenous fatty acid biosynthesis differed between tissues in the same male and female mice. Second, whether the system-level control of lipid pathways differed between the sexes. Third, whether lipid composition differs between males and females at a population level. We found that fatty acid biosynthesis was distinct in male and female mice across tissues. Systemic control of phospholipid and triglyceride metabolism also differed between the sexes. A human population showed that both phospholipid and triglyceride metabolism differed between males and females.