Plasma Oxylipin Profile Discriminates Ethnicities in Subjects with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis: An Exploratory Analysis

Analytical Strategy for Oxylipin Annotation by Combining Chemical Derivatization-Based Retention Index Algorithm and Feature Tandem Mass Spectrometric Fragmentation as a Biomarker Discovery Tool

Accurate oxylipin annotation is crucial for advancing our understanding of physiological processes in health and disease and identifying biomarkers. However, a full view of oxylipins for early diagnosis needs further attention due to the lack of proper analytical methods, which may be attributed to the wide dynamic range, poor sensitivity, extreme molecular complexity, and limited commercially available standards of oxylipins. Here, we devised a novel method by combining a chemical derivatization (CD)-based retention index (RI) algorithm and feature tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation annotation (CD-RI-LC-MS/MS) for identification and quantification of oxylipins. To this end, N,N-diethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (DEPA) was used for fast labeling of oxylipin (within 0.5 min at room temperature) to improve separation resolution and detection sensitivity. The RI algorithm was established to calibrate the retention time variances and assist the identification of oxylipins during liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. MS/MS analysis of in total 58 DEPA derivatives of authentic oxylipin standards was subsequently employed to obtain the tandem mass spectrometric feature fragmentation rules for further structure elucidation of the unknown regio-isomers. Finally, a method based upon CD-RI-LC-MS/MS was established for profiling oxylipins from Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1950 human plasma and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mouse liver tissue samples. A total of 87 and 96 potential oxylipins including 12 and 14 unreported oxylipins were detected and identified from human plasma and mouse liver tissues, respectively. The results showed that compared to the control group, in the liver samples of the NAFLD mouse, the content levels of prostaglandin (PG) E2, PGF2a, 8-hydroxy-eicosatrienoic acid (8-HETrE), and the newly discovered 2-hydroxy-octadecatrienoic acid (2-HOTrE) were remarkably increased, while the oxidation product of n-3 PUFA (p < 0.05) and all hydroperoxy oxylipins significantly decreased. On balance, this method contributes to future studies on oxylipin screening and application in other biological samples for facilitating the understanding of oxylipin roles in metabolic regulation of numerous diseases.

Factors affecting variability in free oxylipins in mammalian tissues

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW

Along with the growing interest in oxylipins is an increasing awareness of multiple sources of variability in oxylipin data. This review summarizes recent findings that highlight the experimental and biological sources of variation in free oxylipins.

RECENT FINDINGS

Experimental factors that affect oxylipin variability include different methods of euthanasia, postmortem changes, cell culture reagents, tissue processing conditions and timing, storage losses, freeze-thaw cycles, sample preparation techniques, ion suppression, matrix effects, use and availability of oxylipin standards, and postanalysis procedures. Biological factors include dietary lipids, fasting, supplemental selenium, vitamin A deficiency, dietary antioxidants and the microbiome. Overt, but also more subtle differences in health affect oxylipin levels, including during resolution of inflammation and long-term recovery from disease. Sex, genetic variation, exposure to air pollution and chemicals found in food packaging and household and personal care products, as well as many pharmaceuticals used to treat health conditions also affect oxylipin levels.

SUMMARY

Experimental sources of oxylipin variability can be minimized with proper analytical procedures and protocol standardization. Fully characterizing study parameters will help delineate biological factors of variability, which are rich sources of information that can be used to probe oxylipin mechanisms of action and to investigate their roles in health.