Here, we present a protocol to quantify and qualify each sphingomyelin species using multiple reaction monitoring and MS/MS/MS mode, respectively.
Method Article
Here, we present a protocol to quantify and qualify each sphingomyelin species using multiple reaction monitoring and MS/MS/MS mode, respectively.
We present a method of analyzing sphingomyelin (SM) qualitatively and quantitatively by liquid chromatography-electrospray Ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). SM is a common sphingolipid composed of a phosphorylcholine and a ceramide as the hydrophilic and hydrophobic component, respectively. A number of SM species are present in mammalian cells due to a variety in the sphingoid long chain base (LCB) and an N-acyl moiety in the ceramide. In this report, we show a method of estimating the number of carbon and double bonds in a LCB and an N-acyl moiety based on their corresponding product ions in MS/MS/MS (MS3) experiments. In addition, we present a quantitative analysis method for SM using two stable isotopically labeled SM species, which facilitates determining the range used in SM quantitation. The present method will be useful in characterizing a variety of SM species in biological samples and industrial products such as cosmetics.
Sphingomyelin (SM) is a common sphingolipid in mammalian cells. SM is synthesized intracellularly1 and present as a precursor for other sphingolipids such as a sphingosine-1-phosphate and a ceramide, which have crucial roles in immune cell trafficking and skin barrier homeostasis, respectively2,3. Thus, the precise analysis of the SM metabolism is important for elucidating the physiological and pathological roles of sphingolipids.
SM is composed of a ceramide and a phosphorylcholine that is linked to the 1-hydroxy group of the ceramide, which is further composed of a sphingosine and an N-acyl moiety. A variety in the carbon and double bond numbers in both the sphingosine and N-acyl moiety results in the number of ceramide (and SM) species. Recent advances in LC-ESI-MS/MS has enabled quantitative and qualitative analysis of SM4,5. In the qualitative analysis, the number of carbon and double bonds of a sphingoid LCB of SM was identified by assigning product ion spectra of LCB. However, structural information of the N-acyl moiety was not directly obtained because its corresponding product ions have not been reported, and therefore N-acyl moieties were deduced by differential analysis between precursor ions and product ions corresponding to LCB in both positive and negative ion modes4,5. In this report, we present a method to detect the product ions of both LCB and N-acyl moiety simultaneously in MS3 mode using triple quadrupole and quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry, which facilitates the precise structural speculation of each SM species6.
The ion suppression (or enhancement) effects caused by the matrix in biological samples hamper the accurate quantification in LC-ESI-MS analysis, and therefore, it is desirable to construct calibration curves for all analytes of interest in the identical matrix of the biological sample. However, this strategy is not feasible because it is almost impossible to prepare all SM species in biological samples, especially in comprehensive analysis. Thus, it is practical to construct a calibration curve and determine the quantitative range using a representative SM species spiked in the biological samples. We used two isotopically-labeled SM species to construct a calibration curve; one was used for an internal standard and the other for a standard compound. We detected a small amount of isotopically-labeled SM species as a standard compound spiked in biological samples and successfully obtained a calibration curve and the quantitative range6.
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Consult all relevant material safety data sheets (MSDS) before use. Wear gloves to minimize sample contamination by skin-derived SM. The present protocol was applied to HeLa cells grown in Eagle's minimum essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 2 mM L-glutamine, 1,000 U/L penicillin, and 100 mg/L streptomycin.
1. Preparation of Lipid Samples
NOTE: It is important that all glassware including test tubes with Teflon-lined screw caps be detergent-free.
2. SM Analysis by LC-ESI-MS/MS
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Chemically synthesized d18:1/24:0 SM (Figure 1A) and d18:1/24:0 SM in lipid samples extracted from HeLa cells (Figure 1B) were analyzed by LC-ESI-MS3 employing [M+HCOO]- and [M-CH3]- as first and second precursor ions, respectively. Note that the spectrum intensity of demethylated-sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) (m/z 449) is larger than that ...
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In the present qualitative method, we obtained MS3 product ions of a SPC and an N-acyl moiety. It is critical to properly assign both a SPC and an N-acyl moiety. To this end, it should be noted that other phosphorylcholine-containing molecules can also be detected as MS3 product ions. Diacyl-phosphatidylcholine (PC) and plasmalogen-PC are abundantly present in mammalian cells, and their hydrophobicity is similar to that of SM. Therefore, diacyl-PC and plasmalogen-PC with an isotope...
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
This work was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (KAKENHI) to K.H. (#15K01691), Y.F. (#15K08625), K.Y. (#26461532), and a grant for the study of Intractable Disease Project from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (K.Y. #201510032A). We thank the Edanz Group (www.edanzediting.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.
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| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBS | ThermoFisher | 10010023 | |
| 100 mm tissue culture dish | IWAKI | 3020-100 | |
| Cell scraper | IWAKI | 9000-220 | |
| Siliconized 2.0 mL tube | Fisher Scientific | 02-681-321 | |
| Test tube | IWAKI | TST SCR 16-100 | |
| Teflon-lined screw cap | IWAKI | 9998CAP415-15 | |
| Disposable glass tube | IWAKI | 9832-1310 | |
| CAPCELL PAK C18 ACR 3 µm 1.5 mm I.D. x 100 mm | Shiseido | 92223 | Guard cartridge is inserted into cartridge holder, and linked to C18 column |
| CAPCELL C18 MGII S-3 2.0 mm x 10 mm GUARD CARTRIDGE | Shiseido | 12197 | |
| Cartridge holder | Shiseido | 12415 | |
| Acetonitrile | Wako | 018-19853 | |
| 2-Propanol (Isopropyl Alcohol) | Wako | 161-09163 | |
| Methanol | Wako | 134-14523 | |
| Formic acid | Wako | 066-00466 | |
| 28% Ammonia water | Wako | 016-03146 | |
| Sonicator (bath type) | SHARP | UT-206H | |
| Vortex mixer for glass test tube | TAITEC | Mix-EVR | |
| 1.4 mL glass vial | Tomsic | 500-1982 | Samples are stored in 1.4 mL glass vial sealed with screw cap and 8 mm septum at -20°C |
| 8 mm septum | Tomsic | 200-3322 | When samples are analyzed, screw caps are replaced with screw caps with slit septum |
| Screw cap for 1.4 mm glass vial | Tomsic | 500-2762 | |
| Screw cap with slit septum | Shimadzu GLC | GLCTV-803 | |
| PVDF 0.22 µm filter | Millipore | SLGVR04NL | |
| Triple quadrupole and quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry | SCIEX | QTRAP4500 | |
| The software for data acquisition and analysis of product ion spectra | SCIEX | Analyst | |
| The software for data integration in quantitative analysis | SCIEX | MultiQuant | |
| HPLC system | Shimadzu | Nexera | |
| Glass bottle | Sansyo | 85-0002 | |
| d18:1/24:0 sphingomyelin | Avanti Polar Lipids | 860592P | |
| Sphingosylphosphorylcholine | Merck | 567735 | |
| Fetal bovine serum | ThermoFisher | 26140079 | |
| L-glutamine | ThermoFisher | 25030081 | |
| Penicillin and streptomycin | Sigma | P4333 | |
| Eagle’s minimum essential medium | Sigma | M4655 |
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