Estelle Martineau

Absolute quantification of metabolites in breast cancer cell extracts by quantitative 2D 1H INADEQUATE NMR

Metabolomic studies by NMR spectroscopy are increasingly employed for a variety of biomedical applications. A very standardized 1D proton NMR protocol is generally employed for data acquisition, associated with multivariate statistical tests. Even if targeted approaches have been proposed to quantify metabolites from such experiments, quantification is often made difficult by the high degree of overlap characterizing 1H NMR spectra of biological samples. Two‐dimensional spectroscopy presents a high potential for accurately measuring concentrations in complex samples, as it offers a much higher discrimination between metabolite resonances. We have recently proposed an original approach relying on the 1H 2D INADEQUATE pulse sequence, optimized for fast quantitative analysis of complex metabolic mixtures. Here, the first application of the quantitative 1H 2D INADEQUATE experiment to a real metabonomic study is presented. Absolute metabolite concentrations are determined for different breast cancer cell line extracts, by a standard addition procedure. The protocol is characterized by high analytical performances (accuracy better than 1%, excellent linearity), even if it is affected by relatively long acquisition durations (15 min to 1 h per spectrum). It is applied to three different cell lines, expressing different hormonal and tyrosine kinase receptors. The absolute concentrations of 15 metabolites are determined, revealing significant differences between cell lines. The metabolite concentrations measured are in good agreement with previous studies regarding metabolic profile changes of breast cancer. While providing a high degree of discrimination, this methodology offers a powerful tool for the determination of relevant biomarkers. Copyright

Fast and precise quantitative analysis of metabolic mixtures by 2D 1H INADEQUATE NMR.

Quantitative analysis of metabolic mixtures by (1)H 1D NMR offers a limited potential for precise quantification of biomarkers, due to strong overlap between the peaks. Two-dimensional spectroscopy is a powerful tool to unambiguously and simultaneously measure a larger number of metabolite contributions. However, it is still rarely used for quantification, first because quantitative analysis by 2D NMR requires a calibration procedure due to the multi-impulsional nature of 2D NMR experiments, and above all because of the prohibitive experiment duration that is necessary to obtain such a calibration curve. In this work, we develop and evaluate a 2D (1)H INADEQUATE protocol for a fast determination of metabolite concentrations in complex mixtures. The 2D pulse sequence is carefully optimized and evaluated in terms of precision and linearity. Quantitative (1)H INADEQUATE 2D spectra of metabolic mixtures are obtained in 7 min with a repeatability better than 2% for metabolite concentrations as small as 100 μM and an excellent linearity. The method described in this work allows a fast and precise quantification of metabolic mixtures, and it forms a promising tool for metabonomic studies.

Strategy for choosing extraction procedures for NMR-based metabolomic analysis of mammalian cells

Metabolomic analysis of mammalian cells can be applied across multiple fields including medicine and toxicology. It requires the acquisition of reproducible, robust, reliable, and homogeneous biological data sets. Particular attention must be paid to the efficiency and reliability of the extraction procedure. Even though a number of recent studies have dealt with optimizing a particular protocol for specific matrices and analytical techniques, there is no universal method to allow the detection of the entire cellular metabolome. Here, we present a strategy for choosing extraction procedures from adherent mammalian cells for the global NMR analysis of the metabolome. After the quenching of cells, intracellular metabolites are extracted from the cells using one of the following solvent systems of varying polarities: perchloric acid, acetonitrile/water, methanol, methanol/water, and methanol/chloroform/water. The hydrophilic metabolite profiles are analysed using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We propose an original geometric representation of metabolites reflecting the efficiency of extraction methods. In the case of NMR-based analysis of mammalian cells, this methodology demonstrates that a higher portion of intracellular metabolites are extracted by using methanol or methanol/chloroform/water. The preferred method is evaluated in terms of biological variability for studying metabolic changes caused by the phenotype of four different human breast cancer cell lines, showing that the selected extraction procedure is a promising tool for metabolomic and metabonomic studies of mammalian cells. The strategy proposed in this paper to compare extraction procedures is applicable to NMR-based metabolomic studies of various systems.

Fast Quantitative 1H–13C Two-Dimensional NMR with Very High Precision

Quantitative analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) requires highly precise measurements to achieve reliable quantification. It is particularly true in (13)C site-specific natural isotope fractionation studied by nuclear magnetic resonance, where the range of values of (13)C isotopic deviations at natural abundance is highly restricted. Consequently, an NMR method capable of measuring δ(13)C ‰ values with a very high precision (a few per mil) is indispensable. This high degree of precision has already been achieved by one-dimensional (13)C acquisitions; however, this approach is limited by peak overlaps which reduce the precision of the isotope content determination, even for certain small molecules. It is therefore necessary to extend this promising methodology to a higher dimensionality. In this context, this paper aims at determining conditions that allow the achievement of two-dimensional (2D) (1)H-(13)C heteronuclear experiments with a precision of a few per mil in a reasonable time. Our results demonstrate that a high precision (repeatability of 2 per mil) can be reached with the (1)H-(13)C HSQC (Heteronuclear Single Quantum Correlation) experiment, thus satisfying the conditions needed to perform (13)C isotope analysis by 2D NMR. We also consider the impact of several approaches which have been proposed to reduce the duration of heteronuclear 2D experiments. Two of these common time-saving strategies, spectral aliasing and linear prediction, are fully compatible with the high-precision requirements of isotopic NMR, while a third one, nonuniform sampling, leads to dramatic precision losses. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the feasibility of very precise 2D NMR measurements and opens a number of application perspectives.

Multidimensional NMR approaches towards highly resolved, sensitive and high-throughput quantitative metabolomics

Multi-dimensional NMR is an appealing approach for dealing with the challenging complexity of biological samples in metabolomics. This article describes how spectroscopists have recently challenged their imagination in order to make 2D NMR a powerful tool for quantitative metabolomics, based on innovative pulse sequences combined with meticulous analytical chemistry approaches. Clever time-saving strategies have also been explored to make 2D NMR a high-throughput tool for metabolomics, relying on alternative data acquisition schemes such as ultrafast NMR. Currently, much work is aimed at drastically boosting the NMR sensitivity thanks to hyperpolarisation techniques, which have been used in combination with fast acquisition methods and could greatly expand the application potential of NMR metabolomics.

Position-Specific Isotope Analysis of Xanthines: A 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Method to Determine the 13C Intramolecular Composition at Natural Abundance

The natural xanthines caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline are of major commercial importance as flavor constituents in coffee, cocoa, tea, and a number of other beverages. However, their exploitation for authenticity, a requirement in these commodities that have a large origin-based price-range, by the standard method of isotope ratio monitoring by mass spectrometry (irm-MS) is limited. We have now developed a methodology that overcomes this deficit that exploits the power of isotopic quantitative (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry combined with chemical modification of the xanthines to enable the determination of positional intramolecular (13)C/(12)C ratios (δ(13)Ci) with high precision. However, only caffeine is amenable to analysis: theobromine and theophylline present substantial difficulties due to their poor solubility. However, their N-methylation to caffeine makes spectral acquisition feasible. The method is confirmed as robust, with good repeatability of the δ(13)Ci values in caffeine appropriate for isotope fractionation measurements at natural abundance. It is shown that there is negligible isotope fractionation during the chemical N-methylation procedure. Thus, the method preserves the original positional δ(13)Ci values. The method has been applied to measure the position-specific variation of the (13)C/(12)C distribution in caffeine. Not only is a clear difference between caffeine isolated from different sources observed, but theobromine from cocoa is found to show a (13)C pattern distinct from that of caffeine.

Non-linear effects in quantitative 2D NMR of polysaccharides: Pitfalls and how to avoid them

Quantitative 2D NMR is a powerful analytical tool which is widely used to determine the concentration of small molecules in complex samples. Due to the site-specific response of the 2D NMR signal, the determination of absolute concentrations requires the use of a calibration or standard addition approach, where the analyte acts as its own reference. Standard addition methods, where the targeted sample is gradually spiked with known amounts of the targeted analyte, are particularly well-suited for quantitative 2D NMR of small molecules. This paper explores the potential of such quantitative 2D NMR approaches for the quantitative analysis of a high molecular weight polysaccharide. The results highlight that the standard addition method leads to a strong under-estimation of the target concentration, whatever the 2D NMR pulse sequence. Diffusion measurements show that a change in the macromolecular organization of the studied polysaccharide is the most probable hypothesis to explain the non-linear evolution of the 2D NMR signal with concentration. In spite of this non-linearity--the detailed explanation of which is out of the scope of this paper--we demonstrate that accurate quantitative results can still be obtained provided that an external calibration is performed with a wide range of concentrations surrounding the target value. This study opens the way to a number of studies where 2D NMR is needed for the quantitative analysis of macromolecules.

13 C and 15 N natural isotope abundance reflects breast cancer cell metabolism

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Despite the information provided by anatomopathological assessment and molecular markers (such as receptor expression ER, PR, HER2), breast cancer therapies and prognostics depend on the metabolic properties of tumor cells. However, metabolomics have not provided a robust and congruent biomarker yet, likely because individual metabolite contents are insufficient to encapsulate all of the alterations in metabolic fluxes. Here, we took advantage of natural 13C and 15N isotope abundance to show there are isotopic differences between healthy and cancer biopsy tissues or between healthy and malignant cultured cell lines. Isotope mass balance further suggests that these differences are mostly related to lipid metabolism, anaplerosis and urea cycle, three pathways known to be impacted in malignant cells. Our results demonstrate that the isotope signature is a good descriptor of metabolism since it integrates modifications in C partitioning and N excretion altogether. Our present study is thus a starting point to possible clinical applications such as patient screening and biopsy characterization in every cancer that is associated with metabolic changes.

The FAQUIRE Approach: FAst, QUantitative, hIghly Resolved and sEnsitivity Enhanced 1H, 13C Data

The targeted analysis of metabolites in complex mixtures is a challenging issue. NMR is one of the major tools in this field, but there is a strong need for more sensitive, better-resolved, and faster quantitative methods. In this framework, we introduce the concept of FAst, QUantitative, hIghly Resolved and sEnsitivity enhanced (FAQUIRE) NMR to push forward the limits of metabolite NMR analysis. 2D 1H, 13C 2D quantitative maps are promising alternatives for enhancing the spectral resolution but are highly time-consuming because of (i) the intrinsic nature of 2D, (ii) the longer recycling times required for quantitative conditions, and (iii) the higher number of scans needed to reduce the level of detection/quantification to access low concentrated metabolites. To reach this aim, speeding up the recently developed QUantItative Perfected and pUre shifted HSQC (QUIPU HSQC) is an interesting attempt to develop the FAQUIRE concept. Thanks to the combination of spectral aliasing, nonuniform sampling, and variable repetition time, the acquisition time of 2D quantitative maps is reduced by a factor 6 to 9, while conserving a high spectral resolution thanks to a pure shift approach. The analytical potential of the new Quick QUIPU HSQC (Q QUIPU HSQC) is evaluated on a model metabolite sample, and its potential is shown on breast-cell extracts embedding metabolites at millimolar to submillimolar concentrations.

A multidimensional 1 H NMR lipidomics workflow to address chemical food safety issues

IntroductionAlthough it is still at a very early stage compared to its mass spectrometry (MS) counterpart, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipidomics is worth being investigated as an original and complementary solution for lipidomics. Dedicated sample preparation protocols and adapted data acquisition methods have to be developed to set up an NMR lipidomics workflow; in particular, the considerable overlap observed for lipid signals on 1D spectra may hamper its applicability.ObjectivesThe study describes the development of a complete proton NMR lipidomics workflow for application to serum fingerprinting. It includes the assessment of fast 2D NMR strategies, which, besides reducing signal overlap by spreading the signals along a second dimension, offer compatibility with the high-throughput requirements of food quality characterization.MethodThe robustness of the developed sample preparation protocol is assessed in terms of repeatability and ability to provide informative fingerprints; further, different NMR acquisition schemes—including classical 1D, fast 2D based on non-uniform sampling or ultrafast schemes—are evaluated and compared. Finally, as a proof of concept, the developed workflow is applied to characterize lipid profiles disruption in serum from β-agonists diet fed pigs.ResultsOur results show the ability of the workflow to discriminate efficiently sample groups based on their lipidic profile, while using fast 2D NMR methods in an automated acquisition framework.ConclusionThis work demonstrates the potential of fast multidimensional 1H NMR—suited with an appropriate sample preparation—for lipidomics fingerprinting as well as its applicability to address chemical food safety issues.