The evolution of methods for urinary steroid metabolomics in clinical investigations particularly in childhood

The metabolites of cortisol, and the intermediates in the pathways from cholesterol to cortisol and the adrenal sex steroids can be analysed in a single separation of steroids by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to MS to give a urinary steroid profile (USP). Steroids individually and in profile are now commonly measured in plasma by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with MS/MS. The steroid conjugates in urine can be determined after hydrolysis and derivative formation and for the first time without hydrolysis using GC-MS, GC-MS/MS and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The evolution of the technology, practicalities and clinical applications are examined in this review. The patterns and quantities of steroids changes through childhood. Information can be obtained on production rates, from which children with steroid excess and deficiency states can be recognised when presenting with obesity, adrenarche, adrenal suppression, hypertension, adrenal tumours, intersex condition and early puberty, as examples. Genetic defects in steroid production and action can be detected by abnormalities from the GC-MS of steroids in urine. New mechanisms of steroid synthesis and metabolism have been recognised through steroid profiling. GC with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) has been used for the tentative identification of unknown steroids in urine from newborn infants with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Suggestions are made as to areas for future research and for future applications of steroid profiling. As routine hospital laboratories become more familiar with the problems of chromatographic and MS analysis they can consider steroid profiling in their test repertoire although with LC-MS/MS of urinary steroids this is unlikely to become a routine test because of the availability, cost and purity of the internal standards and the complexity of data interpretation. Steroid profiling with quantitative analysis by mass spectrometry (MS) after chromatography now provides the most versatile of tests of adrenal function in childhood.

Pd-catalyzed steroid reactions

We review the most important achievements of the last decade in the field of steroid synthesis in the presence of palladium catalysts. Various palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, including Heck, Suzuki, Stille, Sonogashira, Negishi and others, are exemplified with steroid transformations.

Simultaneous determination of 18 tetrahydrocorticosteroid sulfates in human urine by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography (LC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) method for the direct determination of eighteen tetrahydrocorticosteroid sulfates in human urine has been developed. The analytes were 3- and 21-monosulfates and 3,21-disulfates of tetrahydrocortisol (THF), tetrahydrocortisone (THE), tetrahydro-11-deoxycortisol (THS), and their corresponding 5α-H stereoisomers. The mass spectrometric behavior of these sulfates in negative-ion ESI-MS/MS revealed the production of intense structure specific product ions within the same group of sulfates and permitted distinction between regioisomeric sulfates by collision-induced fragmentation with the MS/MS technique using a linear ion-trap instrument. For the quantitative analysis, selected reaction monitoring analysis in the negative-ion detection mode using triple-stage quadrupole mass spectrometer was performed by monitoring transitions from [M-H](-) to the most abundant product ion of each tetrahydrocorticosteroid sulfate. After addition of 3- and 21-monosulfates of [2,2,3β,4,4-d5]-THF, -THE, and -THS as internal standards, urine sample was applied to a solid phase extraction using a lipophilic-weak anion exchange cartridge column, and then analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS. The method had satisfactory performance in terms of intra- and inter-assay precision (less than 9.7% and 9.6%, respectively), and accuracy (91.2-108.2%). The limit of quantification was lower than 2.5 ng/mL for all sulfates examined. We applied this method to determine the concentration of eighteen tetrahydrocorticosteroid sulfates in the urine of healthy subjects. Thus, we have developed a sensitive, precise and accurate assay for urinary tetrahydrocorticosteroid sulfates that should be useful for clinical and biological studies.

[Detailed characterization of bile acid and glucocorticoid world by mass spectrometry]

  The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2002 was shared by John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka "for their development of soft desorption methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules". Indeed, electrospray ionization and soft laser desorption ionization have proved to be of great value in "omics", such as metabolomics, transcriptomics and proteomics in providing a systematic and quantitative approach to the study of biological systems and networks. Moreover, these techniques have made great contributions to metabolic studies that are used for development of new drugs, as well as to the diagnosis of diseases including cancer based on the specific and sensitive detection of molecular biomarkers. In this article, we describe our recent results on characterization of bile acid metabolism in hepatobiliary disease as well as measurement of conjugated urinary tetrahydrocorticosteroids for assessment of altered corticoid metabolism in endocrine disease and the metabolic syndrome.

Synthesis of multiply deuterated 3- and 21-monosulfates of allo-tetrahydrocorticosteroids as internal standards for mass spectrometry

The accurate analysis of trace components in complex biological matrices requires the use of reliable internal standards. For liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, the stable isotope-labeled analogues of the analyte molecules are the most appropriate internal standards. In this paper the synthesis of the 3- and 21-monosulfates of allo-tetrahydrocorticosteroids labeled with four or five deuterium atoms is described. The principal reactions used were (1) hydrogen-deuterium exchange reaction of active methylene groups adjacent to 3- and 11-oxo group of 17,20;20,21-bismethylenedioxy derivatives of 5α-3-ketosteroids and/or 5α-11-ketosteroids with NaOD in CH(3)OD followed by reduction with NaBD(4), (2) epimerization of the 3β-hydroxy group into a 3α configuration, (3) sulfation of hydroxy groups at C-3 or C-21 in the resulting substrates with sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex, and (4) removal of 17,20;20,21-bismethylenedioxy groups with hydrogen fluoride in ethanol. Isotopic purity was found to be satisfactory by MS, and NMR properties of the new compounds were tabulated. The labeled compounds can be used as internal standards in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry assays for clinical and biochemical studies.

Synthesis of 3- and 21-monosulfates of [2,2,3β,4,4-²H₅]-tetrahydrocorticosteroids in the 5β-series as internal standards for mass spectrometry

The 3- and 21-monosulfates of pentadeuterated 5β-tetrahydrocorticosteroides were synthesized, starting from cortisol and 11-deoxycotisol. The principal reactions used were (1) perdeuteration of the methylene groups adjacent to the 3-oxo group of 17,20:20,21-bismethylendioxy-5β-3-ketosteroids with NaOD in CH(3)OD followed by stereoselective reduction with NaBD(4), (2) sulfation of hydroxy groups with sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex, and (3) removal of the 17,20:20,21-bismethylendioxy group with hydrogen fluoride. The labeled compounds can be used as internal standards in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry assays for clinical and biochemical studies.