Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and gas chromatography mass spectrometry of ω- and (ω-1)-hydroxylated metabolites of elaidic and oleic acids in human and rat liver microsomes

In order to characterize the nature of the active site of cytochrome P450 2E1, the metabolism of various fatty acids with cis/trans geometric configurations has been investigated. A system coupling atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry detection with HPLC separation was developed as an alternative method for the characterization of hydroxylated metabolites of oleic and elaidic acids in rat and human liver microsomes. Oxidation of oleic and elaidic acids led to the formation of two main metabolites which were identified by LC-MS and GC-MS as omega and (omega-1)-hydroxylated (or 17-OH and 18-OH) fatty acids, on the basis of their pseudo-molecular mass and their fragmentation. The assay was accurate and reproducible, with a detection limit of 25 ng per injection, a linear range from 25 to 1128 ng per injection, no recorded interference, intra-day and inter-day precision with variation coefficients <14%. This LC-MS method was validated with oleic acid by using both radiometric and mass spectrometric detections. A significant correlation was found between the two methods in human (r=0.86 and 0.94 with P<0.05 and 0.01) and rat liver microsomes (r =0.90 and 0.85 with P<0.01 and 0.05) for 17-OH and 18-OH metabolites, respectively. HPLC coupled to mass spectrometry for the analysis of hydroxylated metabolites of elaidic acid offers considerable advantages since the method does not require use of a radioactive molecule, completely separates the two hydroxymetabolites, confirms the identification of each metabolite, and is as sensitive as the radiometric analysis method. This method allowed the comparative study of oleic and elaidic acid hydroxylations by both human and rat liver microsomal preparations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.