Analysis of tryptophan metabolites and related compounds in human and murine tissue: development and validation of a quantitative and semi-quantitative method using high resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

This study explores the metabolic differences between human and murine plasma in addition to differences between murine subcutaneous and visceral white adipose tissue. A quantitative and semi-quantitative targeted method was developed and validated for this purpose. The quantitative method includes tryptophan and its metabolites in addition to tyrosine, phenylalanine, taurine, B vitamins, neopterin, cystathionine and hypoxanthine. While the semi-quantitative method includes; 3-indoleacetic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, acetylcholine, asymmetric dimethylarginine, citrulline and methionine. Sample preparation was based on protein precipitation, while quantification was conducted using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization in the parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mode. The low limit of quantification for all metabolites ranged from 1 to 200 ng mL⁻¹. Matrix effects and recoveries for stable isotope labelled internal standards were evaluated, with most having a coefficient of variation (CV) of less than 15%. Results showed that a majority of the analytes passed both the intra- and interday precision and accuracy criteria. The comparative analysis of human and murine plasma metabolites reveals species-specific variations within the tryptophan metabolic pathway. Notably, murine plasma generally exhibits elevated concentrations of most compounds in this pathway, with the exceptions of kynurenine and quinolinic acid. Moreover, the investigation uncovers noteworthy metabolic disparities between murine visceral and subcutaneous white adipose tissues, with the subcutaneous tissue demonstrating significantly higher concentrations of tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and serotonin. The findings also show that even a semi-quantitative method can provide comparable results to quantitative methods from other studies and be effective for assessing metabolites in a complex sample. Overall, this study provides a robust platform to compare human and murine metabolism, providing a valuable insight to future investigations.