Rapid identification of plasmalogen molecular species using targeted multiplexed selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry

• Main Authors: Ahsanul Haque, M. (Author), Azad, A.K (Author), Kobayashi, H. (Author), Md. Sheikh, A. (Author), Nagai, A. (Author), Osago, H. (Author), Sakai, H. (Author), Yano, S. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V. 2021
• Subjects: animal experiment; animal model; animal tissue; Article; clinical research; controlled study; electrospray; ethanolamine; high performance liquid chromatography; human; human tissue; icosapentaenoic acid; Identification; LC-MS/MS; limit of detection; linoleic acid; liquid chromatography; liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry; male; mass spectrometry; metabolic disorder; molecule; mouse; multiple reaction monitoring; multiple sclerosis; nonhuman; palmitic acid; Phospholipids; plasmalogen; Plasmalogens; Quantification; saturated fatty acid; tandem mass spectrometry; Targeted multiplexed SRM/MS‘; thin layer chromatography
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Plasmalogens (Pls) levels are reported to be altered in several neurological and metabolic diseases. Identification of sn-1 fatty alcohols and sn-2 fatty acids of different Pls species is necessary to determine the roles and mechanisms of action of Pls in different diseases. Previously, full-scan tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used for this purpose but is not effective for low-abundance Pls species. Recently, multiplexed selected reaction monitoring MS (SRM/MS) was found to be more selective and sensitive than conventional full-scan MS/MS for the identification of low-abundance compounds. In the present study, we developed a liquid chromatography (LC)-targeted multiplexed SRM/MS system for the identification and quantification of different Pls choline (Pls-PC) and Pls ethanolamine (Pls-PE) species. We determined five precursor-product ion transitions to identify sn-1 and sn-2 fragments of each Pls species. Consequently, sn-1 and sn-2 fatty acyl chains of 22 Pls-PC and 55 Pls-PE species were identified in mouse brain samples. Among them, some species had C20:0 and C20:1 fatty alcohols at the sn-1 position. For quantification of Pls species in mouse brain samples, a single SRM transition was employed. Thus, our results suggest that the LC-targeted multiplexed SRM/MS system is very sensitive for the identification and quantification of low-abundance lipids such as Pls, and is thus expected to make a significant contribution to basic and clinical research in this field in the future. © 2021 THE AUTHORS