Possible Evidence of Contamination by Catechins in Deconjugation Enzymes from Helix pomatia and Abalone entrails

β-Glucuronidase and sulfatase are the major deconjugating enzymes used in the cleavage of the glucuronate and sulfate moieties, respectively, from certain conjugated food factors including polyphenols. In the present study, we found that compounds having the same molecular weights as catechins were present in Helix pomatia- and/or Abalone entrails-derived β-glucuronidase and sulfatase by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with multiple reaction monitoring methods. On the other hand, the same molecular weights as catechins were undetectable in Escherichia coli-derived β-glucuronidase and Aerobacter aerogenes-derived sulfatase. By high performance liquid chromatography, enzyme-derived catechins were not detected because of approximately 1,000-fold lower sensitivity as compared to LC-MS/MS. These results suggest that the catechins in these enzymes might be attributed to the diets of the organisms as the enzyme sources.     

液相串联质谱法同时定量检测生物样本中鞘脂类化合物

鞘脂类中的主要活性分子鞘氨醇1-磷酸（S1P）,可通过介导细胞增殖、分化和迁移等发挥广泛的生物学功能|同时,S1P可在相关酶的作用下转变为其它形式.本文旨在建立一种简便的鞘脂类的制备方法,并结合液相串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）快速检测生物样本中纳克水平的鞘脂类化合物. 采用甲醇沉淀或经典的脂质提取方法获得鞘脂类化合物,再采用LC-MS/MS在多反应监测模式（MRM）下进行定量分析. 实验结果表明,甲醇沉淀法可简便快捷地获得血浆或脂蛋白中鞘氨醇类化合物; S1P、二氢鞘氨醇（DH-S1P）和鞘氨醇（SPH）的定量限分别为110.5、215.6和44.3 pg;人血浆中S1P、DH-S1P和SPH的含量分别为257.8±49.4 nmol/L、93.5±17.3 nmol/L和44.6± 7.4 nmol/L, 鞘脂类化合物在人血浆脂蛋白上的分布存在显著性差异|在ApoE-/-小鼠血浆中S1P、DH-S1P和SPH的含量分别为590.1±78.2 nmol/L、197.8±60.6 nmol/L和35.4±16.7 nmol/L|每1×106个人脐静脉内皮细胞（EA.hy926）中,S1P和SPH的含量分别为103.7±21.8 pg和16.3±5.3 ng.甲醇沉淀法结合LC-MS/MS可简便快捷地对血浆和脂蛋白中的鞘脂类化合物进行定量检测. 该方法特别适用于大量生物样本中鞘脂类的快速定量分析.     

The monoterpenoids citral and geraniol are moderate inhibitors of CYP2B6 hydroxylase activity

Monoterpenes are found in the volatile essence of flowers, plants oils, and herbal medicines. Some are commonly used as food additives and fragrance components, and many are found in cosmetics, soaps, cleaning products, disinfectants, preservatives, and medicines. We have recently discovered a moderate inhibitory effect of borneol and isoborneol toward CYP2B6-catalyzed bupropion hydroxylase activity. Based on that result, we expanded our study to evaluate the inhibitory effects of 22 monoterpenoids on CYP2B6 activity in vitro. Among the monoterpenoids screened, borneol, camphor, cineole, isoborneol, menthol, and perillaldehyde showed slight inhibition of CYP2B6-catalyzed bupropion hydroxylation, displaying greater than 50% inhibition at 50muM. Citral and geraniol strongly inhibited CYP2B6 hydroxylase activity in a competitive manner, with K(i) values of 6.8 and 10.3muM, respectively, which are higher than the K(i) (1.8muM) of the well-known CYP2B6-selective inhibitor thio-TEPA. These in vitro data indicate that high amounts of these two monoterpenoids might interact with drugs that are metabolized by CYP2B6. The in vivo pharmacokinetics of these compounds should be examined to determine whether the inhibition of CYP2B6 activity by monoterpenoids has clinical relevance.     

基于超高效液相色谱-串联质谱技术的柑橘黑点病菌(Diaporthe citri)发育关联代谢物分析

【目的】柑橘黑点病是柑橘间座壳菌(Diaporthe citri)引起的真菌性病害,是危害柑橘的重要病害之一,D. citri在生长发育过程中经历菌丝生长(10 d, T1)、分生孢器形成(20 d, T2)和分生孢器产孢(30 d, T3)三个阶段。通过不同发育阶段代谢组分析,挖掘病原菌发育过程中标记物、关键代谢物,为黑点病菌产孢机制、代谢调控等深入研究提供依据。【方法】利用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(ultra performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, UPLC-MS/MS)技术分析了D. citri发育过程中的代谢变化,采用主成分分析(principal component analysis, PCA)和正交偏最小二乘判别分析(orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, OPLS-DA),筛选出了显著差异代谢物并进行了KEGG (Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes)富集分析。【结果】D. cit...     

基于UPLC-MS/MS技术的代谢组学方法研究麸皮对杨树桑黄代谢的影响

桑黄孔菌属.Sanghuangporus是一类具有重要药用价值的大型真菌,目前被国际公认为抗肿瘤效果最好的药用真菌之一.本研究以添加麸皮栽培的杨树桑黄Sanghuangporus vaninii子实体为研究对象,基于液质联用技术的广泛靶向代谢组学研究,从杨树桑黄子实体中检测出355种代谢产物,差异代谢物86种,上调51...     

Simultaneous LC-MS/MS Analysis of Glyphosate,Glufosinate, and Their Metabolic Products in Beer,Barley Tea,and Their Ingredients

Glyphosate and glufosinate are non-selective herbicides that have been extensively used worldwide. Their ionic and water-soluble characteristics often make it difficult to analyze them, especially in food components. A method was developed in this study for the simultaneous analysis of glyphosate, glufosinate, and three metabolic products in beer, barley tea, and their ingredients (malt and corn). The analytical samples were extracted with H₂O, purified with a strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, and then analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with an anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column. This method enabled a rapid and sensitive analysis [limit of quantification (LOQ) = 10 µg/kg] of the herbicides to be achieved.     

Metabolism of peptide YY 3–36 in Göttingen mini-pig and rhesus monkey

Peptide YY 3–36-amide (PYY_3–36) is a peptide hormone, which is known to decrease appetite and food-intake by activation of the Y₂ receptor. The current studies were designed to identify the metabolites of PYY_3–36 in mini-pig and rhesus monkey. Plasma samples were analyzed by high resolution LC–MS (and MS/MS) in order to unambiguously identify the metabolites of PYY_3–36. In summary, the metabolism of PYY_3–36 was similar in mini-pig and rhesus monkey. Several metabolites were identified and PYY_3–34 was identified at the highest levels in plasma. In addition, mini-pigs were also dosed with PYY_1–36-amide, PYY_3–35, PYY_3–34 and [N-methyl 34Q]-PYY_3–36-amide in order to investigate the mechanisms by which PYY was metabolized. PYY_3–35 was rapidly converted to PYY_3–34 whereas dosing of PYY_3–34 to mini-pigs only showed circulating degradation products at low levels, i.e., PYY_3–34 was metabolically more stable than PYY_3–36 and PYY_3–35. [N-methyl 34Q]-PYY_3–36-amide was hypothesized to be stable toward cleavage between 34Q and 35R and after i.v. administration to mini-pigs, one major cleavage product was identified as [N-methyl 34Q]-PYY_3–35. Overall, this showed that cleavage between 35R and 36Y was possible as well as between 34Q and 35R (as shown for PYY_3–35), which indicated that metabolism of PYY_3–36 to PYY_3–34 may be a two-step process. PYY_1–36 was also dosed to mini-pigs, which showed that PYY_1–36 was metabolized in the C-terminal as PYY_3–36. The overall degradation pattern of PYY_1–36 was more complex due to the simultaneous enzymatic degradation in the N-terminal to form PYY_2–34/36 and PYY_3–34/36. In vitro incubations with heparin stabilized plasma showed that PYY_3–36 was degraded with a half-life of 175 min, whereas incubations with PYY_3–35 (half-life of 6 min) showed a rapid formation of PYY_3–34. In conclusion, the present studies showed that PYY_3–36 underwent enzymatic degradation in the C-terminal part and that the major circulating metabolite was PYY_3–34. Furthermore, it may be a sequential two-step process leading to the formation of PYY_3–35 and subsequently the metabolically more stable PYY_3–34.     

A fast and simple assay for busulfan in serum or plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using turbulent flow online extraction technology

Busulfan is used in myeloablative preparation regimens for hematopoietic bone marrow transplantation. Due to its narrow therapeutic range therapeutic drug monitoring of busulfan is recommended. In this study a fast and simple method for measuring busulfan in serum or plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed utilizing turbulent flow online extraction technology. Serum or plasma was mixed with acetonitrile containing d(8)-busulfan. After centrifugation the supernatant was injected onto a turbulent flow preparatory column then transferred to a C18 analytical column monitored by a tandem mass spectrometer set at positive electrospray ionization. The analytical cycle time was 4.0min. The method was linear from 0.15 to 41.90μmol/L with an accuracy of 87.9-103.0%. Inter- and intra-assay CVs across four concentration levels were 2.1-7.8%. No significant carryover or ion suppression was observed. No interference was observed from commercial control materials containing more than 100 compounds. Comparison with a well established LC-MS/MS method using patient specimens (n=45) showed a mean bias 1.3% with Deming regression of slope 1.02, intercept -0.02μmol/L, and a linear correlation coefficient 0.9883. The LC-MS/MS method coupled with turbulent flow online sample cleaning technology described here offers reliable busulfan quantitation in serum or plasma with minimum manual sample preparation and was fully validated for clinical use.     

Determination of the γ-secretase inhibitor MK-0752 in human plasma by online extraction and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HTLC–ESI-MS/MS)

A sensitive and rapid HTLC–ESI-MS/MS method with an advanced online sample preparation was developed for determination of the γ-secretase inhibitor MK-0752 in human plasma using an internal standard. Plasma samples (100 μL) were diluted and injected directly onto an online extraction column (Cohesive Cyclone MAX 0.5 mm × 50 mm, >30 μm), the sample matrix was washed out with an aqueous solution, and retained analytes were eluted out and transferred directly to the analytical column (Phenomenex Gemini 3μ C18 110A, 50 mm × 2.0 mm at 50 °C) for separation using a gradient mobile phase. The eluted analytes were then detected on an API-3000 LC–MS/MS System with ESI and a negative multiple reaction monitoring mode. The monitored ion transitions were m/z 441 → 175 for MK-0752 and 496 → 175 for the internal standard. Online extraction recoveries were 81%. The method was validated and was linear in the range of 0.05–50 μg/mL. Within-day and between-day precisions were < 8.6%, and accuracies were 0.7 and 7.1%. This method was applied to the measurement of plasma MK-0752 levels in a Phase I study of pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory brain tumors.     

Identification of the hydrophobic glycoproteins of Caenorhabditis elegans

Hydrophobic proteins such as integral membrane proteins are difficult to separate, and therefore to study, at a proteomics level. However, the Asn-linked (N-linked) carbohydrates (N-glycans) contained in membrane glycoproteins are important in differentiation, embryogenesis, inflammation, cancer and metastasis, and other vital cellular processes. Thus, the identification of these proteins and their sites of glycosylation in a well-characterized model organism is the first step toward understanding the mechanisms by which N-glycans and their associated proteins function in vivo. In this report, a proteomics method recently developed by our group was applied to identify 117 hydrophobic N-glycosylated proteins of Caenorhabditis elegans extracts by analysis of 195 glycopeptides containing 199 Asn-linked oligosaccharides. Most of the proteins identified are involved in cell adhesion, metabolism, or the transport of small molecules. In addition, there are 18 proteins for which no function is known or predictable by sequence homologies and two proteins which were previously predicted to exist only on the basis of genomic sequences in the C. elegans database. Because N-glycosylation is initiated in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), our data can be used to reassess the previously predicted subcellular localizations of these proteins. As well, the identification of N-glycosylation sites helps establish the membrane topology of the associated glycoproteins. Caenorhabditis elegans strains are presently available with mutations in 17 of the genes we have identified. The powerful genetic tools available for C. elegans can be used to make other strains with mutations in genes encoding N-glycosylated proteins and thereby determine N-glycan function.     

Novel C-Raf phosphorylation sites: serine 296 and 301 participate in Raf regulation

The C-Raf kinase is regulated by numerous phosphorylation steps. To quantify the most prominent phosphorylation sites of C-Raf, we performed mass spectrometry analysis of wild-type C-Raf and the constitutively active C-Raf mutant C-Raf-Y340D/Y341D. We confirmed phosphorylation of most of the sites reported in the literature with the exception that we did not detect phosphorylation of threonine 268/269 (autophosphorylation sites) and threonine 491/serine 494 (kinase activation loop). Importantly, we detected novel phosphorylation sites at the positions of serine 296 and 301. The degree of phosphorylation in these positions depends on the level of activation of C-Raf. Furthermore, we show here, using point mutant forms of C-Raf kinases with serine to alanine and serine to aspartic acid substitution, that serines 296 and 301 contribute to negative regulation of C-Raf.     

Characterization of peptides resulting from digestion of human skin elastin with elastase

Several pathological disorders are associated with abnormalities in elastic fibers, which are mainly composed of elastin. Understanding the biochemical basis of such disorders requires information about the primary structure of elastin. Since the acquisition of structural information for elastin is hampered by its extreme insolubility in water or any organic solvent, in this study, human skin elastin was digested with elastase to produce water-soluble peptides. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments were performed using conventional electrospray ionization (ESI) and nano-ESI techniques coupled with ion trap and quadrupole time-of-flight (qTOF) mass analyzers, respectively. The peptides were identified from the fragment spectra using database searching and/or de novo sequencing. The cleavage sites of the enzyme and, for the first time, the extent and location of proline hydroxylation in human skin elastin were determined. A total of 117 peptides were identified with sequence coverage of 58.8%. It has been observed that 25% of proline residues in the sequenced region are hydroxylated. Elastase cleaves predominantly at the C-terminals of the amino acids Gly, Val, Leu, Ala, and Ile, and to a lesser extent at Phe, Pro, Glu, and Arg. Our results confirm a previous report that human skin elastin lacks amino acid sequences expressed by exon 26A.     

Optimization of Data-Dependent Acquisition Parameters for Coupling High-Speed Separations with LC-MS/MS for Protein Identifications

Recent developments in chromatography, such as ultra-HPLC and superficially porous particles, offer significantly improved peptide separation. The narrow peak widths, often only several seconds, can permit a 15-min liquid chromatography run to have a similar peak capacity as a 60-min run using traditional HPLC approaches. In theory, these larger peak capacities should provide higher protein coverage and/or more protein identifications when incorporated into a proteomic workflow. We initially observed a decrease in protein coverage when implementing these faster chromatographic approaches, due to data-dependent acquisition (DDA) settings that were not properly set to match the narrow peak widths resulting from newly implemented, fast separation techniques. Oversampling of high-intensity peptides lead to low protein-sequence coverage, and tandem mass spectra (MS/MS) from lower-intensity peptides were of poor quality, as automated MS/MS events were occurring late on chromatographic peaks. These observations led us to optimize DDA settings to use these fast separations. Optimized DDA settings were applied to the analysis of Trypanosome brucei peptides, yielding peptide identifications at a rate almost five times faster than previously used methodologies. The described approach significantly improves protein identification workflows that use typical available instrumentation.