Deep mining of oxysterols and cholestenoic acids in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid: Quantification using isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Phytosterols in human serum as measured using a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Phytosterols are lipophilic compounds found in plants with structural similarity to mammalian cholesterol. They cannot be endogenously produced by mammals and therefore always originate from diet. There has been increased interest in dietary phytosterols over the last few decades due to their association with a variety of beneficial health effects including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous effects. They are proposed as potential moderators for diseases associated with the central nervous system where cholesterol homeostasis is found to be imperative (multiple sclerosis, dementia, etc.) due to their ability to reach the brain. Here we utilised an enzyme-assisted derivatisation for sterol analysis (EADSA) in combination with a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSn) to characterise phytosterol content in human serum. As little as 100 fg of plant sterol was injected on a reversed phase LC column. The method allows semi-quantitative measurements of phytosterols and their derivatives simultaneously with measurement of cholesterol metabolites. The identification of phytosterols in human serum was based on comparison of their LC retention times and MS2, MS3 spectra with a library of authentic standards. Free campesterol serum concentration was in the range from 0.30-4.10 µg/mL, β-sitosterol 0.16-3.37 µg/mL and fucosterol was at lowest concentration range from 0.05-0.38 µg/mL in ten individuals. This analytical methodology could be applied to the analysis of other biological fluids and tissues.

Tracing the lipidome in inborn errors of metabolism

Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) represent a heterogeneous group of more than 1800 rare disorders, many of which are causing significant childhood morbidity and mortality. More than 100 IEM are linked to dyslipidaemia, but yet our knowledge in connecting genetic information with lipidomic data is limited. Stable isotope tracing studies of the lipid metabolism (STL) provide insights on the dynamic of cellular lipid processes and could thereby facilitate the delineation of underlying metabolic (patho)mechanisms. This mini-review focuses on principles as well as technical limitations of STL and describes potential clinical applications by discussing recently published STL focusing on IEM.

Impaired oxysterol-liver X receptor signaling underlies aberrant cortical neurogenesis in a stem cell model of neurodevelopmental disorder

The mechanisms by which genomic risks contribute to the onset of neuropsychiatric conditions remain a key challenge and a prerequisite for successful development of effective therapies. 15q11.2 copy number variation (CNV) containing the CYFIP1 gene is associated with autism and schizophrenia. Using stem cell models, we show that 15q11.2 deletion (15q11.2del) and CYFIP1 loss of function (CYFIP1-LoF) lead to premature neuronal differentiation, while CYFIP1 gain of function (CYFIP1-GoF) favors neural progenitor maintenance. CYFIP1 dosage changes led to dysregulated cholesterol metabolism and altered levels of 24S,25-epoxycholesterol, which can mimic the 15q11.2del and CYFIP1-LoF phenotypes by promoting cortical neuronal differentiation and can restore the impaired neuronal differentiation of CYFIP1-GoF neural progenitors. Moreover, the neurogenic activity of 24S,25-epoxycholesterol is lost following genetic deletion of liver X receptor (LXRβ), while compound deletion of LXRβ in CYFIP1-/- background rescued their premature neurogenesis. This work delineates LXR-mediated oxysterol regulation of neurogenesis as a pathological mechanism in neural cells carrying 15q11.2 CNV and provides a potential target for therapeutic strategies for associated disorders.

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Cholesterol and Oxysterols

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a new technique in the toolbox of the analytical biochemist. It allows the generation of a compound-specific image from a tissue slice where a measure of compound abundance is given pixel by pixel, usually displayed on a color scale. As mass spectra are recorded at each pixel, the data can be interrogated to generate images of multiple different compounds all in the same experiment. Mass spectrometry (MS) requires the ionization of analytes, but cholesterol and other neutral sterols tend to be poorly ionized by the techniques employed in most MSI experiments, so despite their high abundance in mammalian tissues, cholesterol is poorly represented in the MSI literature. In this chapter, we discuss some of the MSI studies where cholesterol has been imaged and introduce newer methods for its analysis by MSI. Disturbed cholesterol metabolism is linked to many disorders, and the potential of MSI to study cholesterol, its precursors, and its metabolites in animal models and from human biopsies will be discussed.

Comprehensive Metabolic Fingerprints Characterize Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder by Nanoparticle-Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Timely screening of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and differential diagnosis from myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disorder (MOGAD) are the keys to improving the quality of life of patients. Metabolic disturbance occurs with the development of NMOSD. Still, advanced tools are required to probe the metabolic phenotype of NMOSD. Here, we developed a fast nanoparticle-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry assay for multiplexing metabolic fingerprints (MFs) from trace plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples in 30 s. Machine learning of the plasma MFs achieved the timely screening of NMOSD from healthy donors with an area under receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.998, and it comprehensively revealed the dysregulated neurotransmitter and energy metabolisms. Combining comprehensive MFs from both plasma and CSF, we constructed an integrated panel for differential diagnosis of NMOSD versus MOGAD with an AUROC of 0.923. This approach demonstrated performance superior to that of human experts in classifying two diseases, especially in antibody assay-limited regions. Together, this approach provides an advanced nanomaterial-based tool for identifying vulnerable populations below the antibody threshold of aquaporin-4 positivity.

Comprehensive lipidome of human plasma using minimal sample manipulation by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

The present work shows comprehensive chromatographic methods and MS conditions that have been developed based on the chemical properties of each lipid subclass to detect low-abundance molecular species. This study shows that the developed methods can detect low- and/or very-low-abundant lipids like phosphatidic acid (PA) in the glycerophospholipid (GP) method; dihydroceramide (dhCer) and dihydrosphingosine/sphinganine (dhSPB) in the sphingolipid (SP) method; and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), LPI, LPG and sphingosine-1-phosphate (SPBP) in the lysolipid method.

METHODS

An optimised method for the extraction of lysolipids in plasma is used in addition to Folch extraction. Then, four chromatographic methods coupled with mass spectrometry using targeted and untargeted approaches are described here. Three of the methods use a tertiary pumping system to enable the inclusion of a gradient for analyte separation (pumps A and B) and an isocratic wash (pump C). This wash solution elutes interfering compounds that could cause background signal in the subsequent injections, reducing column lifetime.

RESULTS

Semi-quantitative values for 37 lipid subclasses are reported for a plasma sample (NIST SRM 1950). Furthermore, the methods presented here enabled the identification of 338 different lipid molecular species for GPs (mono- and diacyl-phospholipds), SPs, sterols and glycerolipids. The methods have been validated, and the reproducibility is presented here.

CONCLUSIONS

The comprehensive analysis of the lipidome addressed here of glycerolipids, GPs, sterols and SPs is in good agreement with previously reported results, in the NIST SRM 1950 sample, by other laboratories. Ten lipid subclasses LPS, LPI, alkyl-lysophosphatidic acid/alkenyl-lysophosphatidic acid, alkyl-lysophosphatidylethanolamine/alkenyl-lysophosphatidylethanolamine, dhCer (d18:0), SPB (d18:1), dhSPB (d18:0) and SPBP (d18:2) have been detected using this comprehensive method and are uniquely reported here.

Identification of unusual oxysterols biosynthesised in human pregnancy by charge-tagging and liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to identify oxysterols and any down-stream metabolites in placenta, umbilical cord blood plasma, maternal plasma and amniotic fluid to enhance our knowledge of the involvement of these molecules in pregnancy. We confirm the identification of 20S-hydroxycholesterol in human placenta, previously reported in a single publication, and propose a pathway from 22R-hydroxycholesterol to a C27 bile acid of probable structure 3β,20R,22R-trihydroxycholest-5-en-(25R)26-oic acid. The pathway is evident not only in placenta, but pathway intermediates are also found in umbilical cord plasma, maternal plasma and amniotic fluid but not non-pregnant women.

Cholesterol metabolism: from lipidomics to immunology

Oxysterols, the oxidized forms of cholesterol or of its precursors, are formed in the first steps of cholesterol metabolism. Oxysterols have interested chemists, biologists, and physicians for many decades, but their exact biological relevance in vivo, other than as intermediates in bile acid biosynthesis, has long been debated. However, in the first quarter of this century, a role for side-chain oxysterols and their C-7 oxidized metabolites has been convincingly established in the immune system. 25-Hydroxycholesterol has been shown to be synthesized by macrophages in response to the activation of Toll-like receptors and to offer protection against microbial pathogens, whereas 7α,25-dihydroxycholesterol has been shown to act as a chemoattractant to lymphocytes expressing the G protein-coupled receptor Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 2 and to be important in coordinating the action of B cells, T cells, and dendritic cells in secondary lymphoid tissue. There is a growing body of evidence that not only these two oxysterols but also many of their isomers are of importance to the proper function of the immune system. Here, we review recent findings related to the roles of oxysterols in immunology.

Lipid oxidation that is, and is not, inhibited by vitamin E: Consideration about physiological functions of vitamin E

Lipids are oxidized in vivo by multiple oxidizing species with different properties, some by regulated manner to produce physiological mediators, while others by random mechanisms to give detrimental products. Vitamin E plays an important role as a physiologically essential antioxidant to inhibit unregulated lipid peroxidation by scavenging lipid peroxyl radicals to break chain propagation independent of the type of free radicals which induce chain initiation. Kinetic data suggest that vitamin E does not act as an efficient scavenger of nitrogen dioxide radical, carbonate anion radical, and hypochlorite. The analysis of regio- and stereo-isomer distribution of the lipid oxidation products shows that, apart from lipid oxidation by CYP enzymes, the free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation is the major pathway of lipid oxidation taking place in humans. Compared with healthy subjects, the levels of racemic and trans,trans-hydro (pero)xyoctadecadienoates, specific biomarker of free radical lipid oxidation, are elevated in the plasma of patients including atherosclerosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. α-Tocopherol acts as a major antioxidant, while γ-tocopherol scavenges nitrogen dioxide radical, which induces lipid peroxidation, nitration of aromatic compounds and unsaturated fatty acids, and isomerization of cis-fatty acids to trans-fatty acids. It is essential to appreciate that the antioxidant effects of vitamin E depend on the nature of both oxidants and substrates being oxidized. Vitamin E, together with other antioxidants such as vitamin C, contributes to the inhibition of detrimental oxidation of biological molecules and thereby to the maintenance of human health and prevention of diseases.

Progress and Challenges in Quantifying Carbonyl-Metabolomic Phenomes with LC-MS/MS

Carbonyl-containing metabolites widely exist in biological samples and have important physiological functions. Thus, accurate and sensitive quantitative analysis of carbonyl-containing metabolites is crucial to provide insight into metabolic pathways as well as disease mechanisms. Although reversed phase liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (RPLC-ESI-MS) is widely used due to the powerful separation capability of RPLC and high specificity and sensitivity of MS, but it is often challenging to directly analyze carbonyl-containing metabolites using RPLC-ESI-MS due to the poor ionization efficiency of neutral carbonyl groups in ESI. Modification of carbonyl-containing metabolites by a chemical derivatization strategy can overcome the obstacle of sensitivity; however, it is insufficient to achieve accurate quantification due to instrument drift and matrix effects. The emergence of stable isotope-coded derivatization (ICD) provides a good solution to the problems encountered above. Thus, LC-MS methods that utilize ICD have been applied in metabolomics including quantitative targeted analysis and untargeted profiling analysis. In addition, ICD makes multiplex or multichannel submetabolome analysis possible, which not only reduces instrument running time but also avoids the variation of MS response. In this review, representative derivatization reagents and typical applications in absolute quantification and submetabolome profiling are discussed to highlight the superiority of the ICD strategy for detection of carbonyl-containing metabolites.