Grażyna Chwatko

Determination of endogenous thiols and thiol drugs in urine by HPLC with ultraviolet detection

Analysis of urine for endogenous thiols and thiol drugs content by HPLC with ultraviolet detection is addressed. Other methodologies for detection and determination of thiols in urine are only mentioned. Outline of metabolism, role of main biological thiols in physiological and pathological processes and their reference concentrations in urine are presented. In particular, urine sample preparation procedures, including reduction of thiol disulfides, chemical derivatization and reversed-phase HPLC separation steps are discussed. Some experimental details of analytical procedures for determination of endogenous thiols cysteine, cysteinylglycine, homocysteine, N-acetylcysteine, thioglycolic acid; and thiol drugs cysteamine, tiopronin, D-penicillamine, captopril, mesna, methimazole, propylthiouracil and thioguanine are reviewed.

Urinary excretion measurement of cysteine and homocysteine in the form of their S-pyridinium derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

Several human diseases, in particular metabolic disorders, often lead to the accumulation of characteristic metabolites in plasma, urine and cells. The selected diseases of this type include cystinuria and homocystinuria. In the typical laboratory diagnosis of these two diseases, a positive nitroprusside test is followed by quantitative analysis of urine cysteine and homocysteine in order to differentiate between cystinuria and homocystinuria. A sensitive and reproducible assay for total urine cysteine and homocysteine has been developed. The essential steps in the assay include conversion of disulphides to free thiols with tributylphosphine, conjugation of the thiols with 2-chloro-1-methyl pyridinium iodide, separation of S-pyridinium derivatives of cysteine and homocysteine from other endogenous urine thiol derivatives by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and detection and quantitation by spectrophotometry. The method has a sensitivity of 4 pmol and is reproducible, intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation are from 1.37 to 4.14% and from 2.38 to 5.01%, respectively. The mean concentration of total urine cysteine and homocysteine in healthy donors (7 men and 7 women) were for women. 92.0 +/- 45.8 and 16.4 +/- 4.8 respectively, and for men 120.9 +/- 46.6 and 21.5 +/- 7.4 nmol/ml, respectively. Total urine homocysteine represents approximately 17.7% of cysteine in the urine of normal individuals.

Ultraviolet derivatization of low-molecular-mass thiols for high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis analysis.

Thiols play an important role in metabolic processes of all living creatures and their analytical control is very important in order to understand their physiological and pathological function. Among a variety of methods available to measure thiol concentrations, chemical derivatization utilizing a suitable labeling reagent followed by liquid chromatographic or electrophoretic separation is the most reliable means for sensitive and specific determination of thiol compounds in real world samples. Ultraviolet detection is, for its simplicity, commonly used technique in liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, and consequently many ultraviolet derivatization reagents are in used. This review summarizes HPLC and CE ultraviolet derivatization based methods, including pre-analytical considerations, procedures for sample reduction, derivatization, and separation of the primary biological aminothiols--cysteine, homocysteine, cysteinylglycine and glutathione, and most important thiol-drugs in pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples. Cognizance of the biochemistry involved in the formation of the analytes is taken.

Liquid chromatographic assessment of total and protein-bound homocysteine in human plasma.

Homocysteine present in human blood plasma is derivatized with thiol selective ultraviolet labelling reagent, 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide, and separated from other plasma thiol derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection at 312 nm. The separation is carried out isocratically on LiChrospher RP-18 column using mobile phase consisting of pH 2.5 0.04 M trichloroacetic acid buffer and methanol in the ratio 9:1 (v/v) pumped at 0.5 ml min(-1) at 40 degrees C. The homocysteine S-pyridinium derivative elutes at 6.5 min. To determine total and protein-bound homocysteine it is necessary to cleave disulphide bounds by the use of tri-n-butylphosphine in order to form free sulfhydryl group. The method provides quantitative information on total and protein-bound homocysteine based on assays with derivatization after reduction of whole plasma, and derivatization after reduction of acid precipitated proteins. The calibration graph is linear over the concentration range covering most experimental and clinical cases. The assay has a low pmol sensitivity and is reproducible; intra- and inter-day, relative standard deviation range from 1.79 to 5.09% and from 2.80 to 5.60%, respectively. The method is applied to the determination of total and protein-bound homocysteine in the plasma of healthy individuals.

The effects of garlic-derived sulfur compounds on cell proliferation, caspase 3 activity, thiol levels and anaerobic sulfur metabolism in human hepatoblastoma HepG2 cells

The aim of the present studies was to determine whether the mechanism of biological action of garlic‐derived sulfur compounds in human hepatoma (HepG2) cells can be dependent on the presence of labile sulfane sulfur in their molecules. We investigated the effect of allyl sulfides from garlic: monosulfide, disulfide and trisulfide on cell proliferation and viability, caspase 3 activity and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production in HepG2 cells. In parallel, we also examined the influence of the previously mentioned compounds on the levels of thiols, glutathione, cysteine and cysteinyl‐glycine, and on the level of sulfane sulfur and the activity of its metabolic enzymes: rhodanese, 3‐mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase and cystathionase. Among the compounds under study, diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a sulfane sulfur‐containing compound, showed the highest biological activity in HepG2 cells. This compound increased the H2O2 formation, lowered the thiol level and produced the strongest inhibition of cell proliferation and the greatest induction of caspase 3 activity in HepG2 cells. DATS did not affect the activity of sulfurtransferases and lowered sulfane sulfur level in HepG2 cells. It appears that sulfane sulfur containing DATS can be bioreduced in cancer cells to hydroperthiol that leads to H2O2 generation, thereby influencing transmission of signals regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. Copyright

Effect of metallothionein 2A gene polymorphism on allele-specific gene expression and metal content in prostate cancer

Metallothioneins (MTs) are highly conserved, small molecular weight, cysteine rich proteins. The major physiological functions of metallothioneins include homeostasis of essential metals Zn and Cu and protection against cytotoxicity of heavy metals. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between the -5 A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs28366003) in core promoter region and expression of metallothionein 2A (MT2A) gene and metal concentration in prostate cancer tissues. MT2A polymorphism was determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP) using 412 prostate cancer tissue samples. MT2A gene expression analysis was performed by real-time RT-PCR method. A significant association between rs28366003 genotype and MT2A expression level was found. The average mRNA level was found to be lower among minor allele carriers (the risk allele) than average expression among homozygotes for the major allele. Metal levels were analyzed by flamed atomic absorption spectrometer system. Highly statistically significant associations were detected between the SNP and Cd, Zn, Cu and Pb levels. The results of Spearmans rank correlation showed that the expressions of MT2A and Cu, Pb and Ni concentrations were negatively correlated. On the basis of the results obtained in this study, we suggest that SNP polymorphism may affect the MT2A gene expression in prostate and this is associated with some metal accumulation.

Determination of cysteine and glutathione in cucumber leaves by HPLC with UV detection

Cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH) have been identified as key players in redox-based defense and signaling under stress in plants. Here, we describe a new high-performance liquid chromatography assay for the determination of four different forms of Cys and GSH, based on reduction of disulfide bonds with tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine followed by derivatization with 2-chloro-1-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate and UV detection. The presented method allows facile determination of total, reduced, free and protein bound aminothiols in cucumber leaves. Via this simple yet efficient method very good precision as well as accuracy were obtained. Linearity in detector response was observed over the range of 5–100 μmol L−1 for GSH and 1–20 μmol L−1 for Cys. The LOQs for GSH and Cys were 5 μmol L−1 and 1 μmol L−1 homogenate of cucumber leaf, respectively.

Determination of thiosulfate in human urine by high performance liquid chromatography.

Thiosulfate is a sulfate analogue with a thiosulfur substituent and is found in human samples. Its concentration in urine is increased in some diseases and after exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas. We have developed a sensitive, simple and cheap method for thiosulfate determination in urine. The method is based on precolumn derivatization with 2-chloro-1-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography separation and ultraviolet detection of 1-methyl-2-thioquinolone at 375 nm. The calibration curve for thiosulfate was linear in the tested range 0.5-50 micromol L(-1) with correlation coefficient better than 0.999. The analytical recovery and relative standard deviation values for precision within the calibration range were from 90.1% to 104.2% and from 2.39% to 5.59%, respectively. The lower limit of detection and quantitation were 0.3 and 0.5 micromol L(-1), respectively. The mean (range) concentration of thiosulfate normalized against creatinine for apparently healthy seven women and six men was 2.21 (1.45-2.77) and 2.51 (1.36-4.89)mmol mol(-1) creatinine, respectively. We monitored thiosulfate in urine samples from one volunteer for 24 h. The urinary excretion of thiosulfate was 21.4 micromol per 24 h. This method can be used for routine clinical monitoring thiosulfate in urine. Cysteine and cysteinylglycine can be measured concurrently, if needed.

Thiosulfate in urine as a facilitator in the diagnosis of prostate cancer for patients with prostate-specific antigen less or equal 10 ng/mL.

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to examine the level of thiosulfate in the urine of prostate cancer (PCa) patients and evaluate its usefulness in the diagnosis and monitoring of prostate malignant transformation. Thiosulfate is a naturally occurring product of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) metabolism. H2S is involved in many physiological and pathological processes including inflammation and tumorigenesis. Methods: The determination of thiosulfate in the urine of PCa patients and healthy controls was performed by reverse-phased liquid chromatography using 2-chloro-1-methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate as a derivatization reagent. Thiosulfate concentrations were normalized to urinary creatinine levels to compensate for variable diuresis. Results: In the urine samples of PCa patients, the mean thiosulfate level was almost 50 times higher than in the control groups and five times higher than in the benign prostatic hyperplasia group. The level of thiosulfate did not correlate with the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level or PSA density. Neither tumor stage nor tumor grade was associated with thiosulfate level. Conclusions: The results suggest that thiosulfate concentration in urine may be a good facilitator in the diagnostics of PCa. The predictive accuracy of this method is particularly valuable for the diagnosis of patients with low serum PSA level and negative digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasound results.

Simple micellar electrokinetic chromatography method for the determination of hydrogen sulfide in hen tissues

A new method for the determination of hydrogen sulfide in hen tissues has been developed and validated. For estimation of hydrogen sulfide content, a sample (0.1 g) of hen tissue was treated according to the procedure consisted of some essential steps: simultaneous homogenization of a tissue and derivatization of hydrogen sulfide to its S‐quinolinium derivative with 2‐chloro‐1‐methylquinolinium tetrafluoroborate, separation of so‐formed derivative by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with sweeping, and detection and quantitation with the use of UV detector set to measure analytical signals at 375 nm. Effective electrophoretic separation was achieved using fused silica capillary (effective length 41.5 cm, 75 μm id) and 0.05 mol/L, pH 8 phosphate buffer with the addition of 0.04 mol/L SDS and 26% ACN. The lower limit of quantification was 0.12 μmol hydrogen sulfide in 1 g of tissue. The calibration curve prepared in tissue homogenate for hydrogen sulfide showed linearity in the range from 0.15 to 2.0 μmol/g, with the coefficient of correlation 0.9978. The relative standard deviation of the points of the calibration curve varied from 8.3 to 3.2% RSD.