Joseph P. M. Hui

Rapid determination of corticosteroids in urine by combined solid phase microextraction/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Solid-phase microextraction combined with fast short-column liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME/LC/MS) was used for isolating and analysing 11 corticosteroids and 2 steroid conjugates from urine samples. Several SPME parameters such as polarity of fibres, extraction time and effect of ionic strength, were investigated, and their impact on the SPME/LC/MS technique was studied. To demonstrate the potential of the SPME/LC/MS method, its application to the determination of steroids in human urine was investigated. The method was shown to be sensitive with detection limits between 4 and 30 ng/mL and precision between 4.9 and 11.1% RSD through the use of an internal standard technique. The versatility of the method was also exhibited by its excellent linearity in the concentration range of 20 to 20,000 ng/mL in urine for all investigated compounds. A comparison of the SPME/LC/MS method with LC/MS methods utilizing traditional sample preparation techniques, shows that the former offers similar performance in terms of precision, linearity and detection limits, but is clearly easier to use and faster to perform.

Campylobacter jejuni Glycosylation Island Important in Cell Charge, Legionaminic Acid Biosynthesis, and Colonization of Chickens

ABSTRACT Previously, we identified five genes (Cj1321 to Cj1326, of which Cj1325 and Cj1326 are a single gene) in the O-linked flagellin glycosylation island that are highly prevalent in Campylobacter jejuni isolates from chickens. We report mutagenesis, functional, and structural data to confirm that this locus, and Cj1324 in particular, has a significant contributory role in the colonization of chickens by C. jejuni. A motile ΔCj1324 mutant with intact flagella was considerably less hydrophobic and less able to autoagglutinate and form biofilms than the parent strain, 11168H, suggesting that the surface charge of flagella of Cj1324-deficient strains was altered. The physical and functional attributes of the parent were restored upon complementation. Structural analysis of flagellin protein purified from the ΔCj1324 mutant revealed the absence of two legionaminic acid glycan modifications that were present in the parent strain, 11168H. These glycoform modifications were shown to be prevalent in chicken isolates and confirm that differences in the highly variable flagellin glycosylation locus can relate to the strain source. The discovery of molecular mechanisms influencing the persistence of C. jejuni in poultry aids the rational design of approaches to control this problematic pathogen in the food chain.

Functional Characterization of the Flagellar Glycosylation Locus in Campylobacter jejuni 81–176 Using a Focused Metabolomics Approach

Bacterial genome sequencing has provided a wealth of genetic data. However, the definitive functional characterization of hypothetical open reading frames and novel biosynthetic genes remains challenging. This is particularly true for genes involved in protein glycosylation because the isolation of their glycan moieties is often problematic. We have developed a focused metabolomics approach to define the function of flagellin glycosylation genes in Campylobacter jejuni 81–176. A capillary electrophoresis-electrospray mass spectrometry and precursor ion scanning method was used to examine cell lysates of C. jejuni 81–176 for sugar nucleotides. Novel nucleotide-activated intermediates of the pseudaminic acid (Pse5NAc7NAc) pathway and its acetamidino derivative (PseAm) were found to accumulate within select isogenic mutants, and use of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method permitted large scale purifications of the intermediates. NMR with cryo probe (cold probe) technology was utilized to complete the structural characterization of microgram quantities of CMP-5-acetamido-7-acetamidino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-l-glycero-α-l-manno-nonulosonic acid (CMP-Pse5NAc7Am), which is the first report of Pse modified at C7 with an acetamidino group in Campylobacter, and UDP-2,4-diacetamido-2,4,6-trideoxy-α-d-glucopyranose, which is a bacillosamine derivative found in the N-linked proteinglycan. Using this focused metabolomics approach, pseB, pseC, pseF, pseI, and for the first time pseA, pseG, and pseH were found to be directly involved in either the biosynthesis of CMP-Pse5NAc7NAc or CMP-Pse5NAc7Am. In contrast, it was shown that pseD, pseE, Cj1314c, Cj1315c, Cjb1301, Cj1334, Cj1341c, and Cj1342c have no role in the CMP-Pse5NAc7NAc or CMP-Pse5NAc7Am pathways. These results demonstrate the usefulness of this approach for targeting compounds within the bacterial metabolome to assign function to genes, identify metabolic intermediates, and elucidate novel biosynthetic pathways.

Targeted metabolomics analysis of Campylobacter coli VC167 reveals legionaminic acid derivatives as novel flagellar glycans.

Glycosylation of Campylobacter flagellin is required for the biogenesis of a functional flagella filament. Recently, we used a targeted metabolomics approach using mass spectrometry and NMR to identify changes in the metabolic profile of wild type and mutants in the flagellar glycosylation locus, characterize novel metabolites, and assign function to genes to define the pseudaminic acid biosynthetic pathway in Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 (McNally, D. J., Hui, J. P., Aubry, A. J., Mui, K. K., Guerry, P., Brisson, J. R., Logan, S. M., and Soo, E. C. (2006) J. Biol. Chem. 281, 18489-18498). In this study, we use a similar approach to further define the glycome and metabolomic complement of nucleotide-activated sugars in Campylobacter coli VC167. Herein we demonstrate that, in addition to CMP-pseudaminic acid, C. coli VC167 also produces two structurally distinct nucleotide-activated nonulosonate sugars that were observed as negative ions at m/z 637 and m/z 651 (CMP-315 and CMP-329). Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry yielded suitable amounts of the pure sugar nucleotides for NMR spectroscopy using a cold probe. Structural analysis in conjunction with molecular modeling identified the sugar moieties as acetamidino and N-methylacetimidoyl derivatives of legionaminic acid (Leg5Am7Ac and Leg5AmNMe7Ac). Targeted metabolomic analyses of isogenic mutants established a role for the ptmA-F genes and defined two new ptm genes in this locus as legionaminic acid biosynthetic enzymes. This is the first report of legionaminic acid in Campylobacter sp. and the first report of legionaminic acid derivatives as modifications on a protein.

Study of erythromycin A decomposition products in aqueous solution by solid-phase microextraction/liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

The decomposition of erythromycin A (EA) in aqueous solution was examined in the pH range 2-13 by means of combined solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Degradation of EA, especially at lower pH values (pH < or = 3), was very rapid and yielded a wide variety of decomposition products. Identification of these degradation products was achieved by means of tandem mass spectrometry in the product ion and precursor ion scan modes. Anhydroerythromycin A was shown to be the major reaction product in both acidic and basic solutions. Among the different SPME fibers investigated for extraction from aqueous solutions, polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene exhibited the best performance for EA and its degradation products.

Estrogenic compounds in seawater and sediment from Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Abstract-Samples of seawater and surface sediment were collected from seven locations around Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, and analyzed for the presence of the organic estrogenic contaminants, bisphenol A (BPA), 17beta-estradiol (E2), and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Samples were extracted using solid phase extraction (seawater) or sonication (sediments), followed by fractionation on a two-layer alumina/silica gel column prior to analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) with negative-ion electrospray ionization. Levels of the three compounds consistently ranked as BPA > E2 > EE2. The least potent compound and plasticizer BPA reached levels of up to 2.6 ng/L in seawater and 9.5 ng/g in sediments; the natural product E2 was detected at concentrations up to 0.57 ng/L and 0.86 ng/g; while the synthetic estrogen EE2 was in most cases below the method detection limit (0.14 ng/L and 0.28 ng/g). The highest levels were observed in the influent of a secondary treatment plant that discharges into the harbor, with concentrations of 32.4 ng/L for BPA and 5.3 ng/L for E2. Overall, the results indicate that these compounds readily associate with suspended particles rather than remaining in the soluble phase. Measurement of the octanol-water partition coefficient (log K(OW)) confirmed these results, with values of 3.41, 3.89, and 4.16 for BPA, E2, and EE2, respectively. Partitioning experiments using spiked field samples further confirmed these findings, with sorption directly related to sediment total organic content and following the order EE2 > E2 > BPA.

Strategic identification of in vitro metabolites of 13‐desmethyl spirolide C using liquid chromatography/high‐resolution mass spectrometry

A strategy to identify metabolites of a marine biotoxin, 13-desmethyl spirolide C, has been developed using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS). Metabolites were generated in vitro through incubation with human liver microsomes. A list of metabolites was established by selecting precursor ions of a common fragment ion characteristic of the spirolide toxin which was known to contain a cyclic imine ring. Accurate mass measurements were subsequently used to confirm the molecular formula of each biotransformation product. Using this approach, a total of nine phase I metabolites was successfully identified with deviations of mass accuracy less than 2 ppm. The biotransformations observed included hydroxylation, dihydroxylation, oxidation of a quaternary methyl group to hydroxymethyl or carboxylic acid groups, dehydrogenation and hydroxylation, as well as demethylation and dihydroxylation reactions. In a second step, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was performed to elucidate structures of the metabolites. Using the unique fragment ions in the spectra, the structures of the three major metabolites, 13,19-didesmethyl-19-carboxy spirolide C, 13,19-didesmethyl-19-hydroxymethyl spirolide C and 13-desmethyl-17-hydroxy spirolide C, were assigned. Levels of 13-desmethyl spirolide C and its metabolites were monitored at selected time points over a 32-h incubation period with human liver microsomes. It was determined that 13,19-didesmethyl-19-carboxy spirolide C became the predominant metabolite after 2 h of incubation. The stability plot of 13-desmethyl spirolide C showed first-order kinetics for its metabolism and the intrinsic clearance was calculated to be 41 μL/min/mg, suggesting first-pass metabolism may contribute to limiting oral toxicity of 13-desmethyl spirolide C.

Metabolomics in glycomics.

Metabolomics is essentially the study of all low molecular weight molecules in a biological system under defined conditions. In glycomics, there is much potential to gain insight into the biosynthesis of novel glycoconjugate structures by probing the metabolome for substrates that are suspected, or known, to be involved in the biosynthetic processes. Recently, we employed the use of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS) in a focused metabolomic study of sugar-nucleotides relevant to the biosynthesis of highly novel carbohydrate modifications on the flagellin of Campylobacter sp. We exploited the unique selectivity of the HILIC-MS method for discriminating between closely related sugar-nucleotide intermediates and allowed their subsequent structural identification using a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, the HILIC-MS method permitted screening of selected isogenic mutants for sugar-nucleotide intermediates to determine a role for the corresponding genes on the flagellin glycosylation locus in the biosynthesis of the novel carbohydrate modifications.