Acylcarnitine Profiling in Meningiomas with Different NF2 Mutation Statuses

The mutation in NF2 is the most common alteration associated with meningioma oncogenesis, and it is related to the loss of a suppressing protein called merlin. At the same time, alterations in energy production are visible in cancer cells, where increased demands for energy are observed. Fatty acid oxidation could be one of the ways cancer cells obtain energy. This metabolic pathway uses the acylcarnitine shuttle system, which is responsible for the acylation of fatty acids and their transport through the mitochondria. Therefore, this study aimed to profile acylcarnitines with short, medium, and long acyl chain lengths in meningiomas to assess their changes in tumors with different NF2 mutation statuses. For the analysis, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) was used. The presented sampling method enabled less invasive and easy collection of the analytes from the studied lesions, which can be crucial for future analysis of potential biomarkers in the surgery room. It was observed that higher levels of these analytes characterized meningiomas with NF2 mutations. Moreover, the increased energy consumption and elevated levels of acylcarnitines show that these analytes can be considered markers of increased fatty acid oxidation in NF2 mutated cells.