Measurement of steroids in rats after exposure to an endocrine disruptor: Mass spectrometry and radioimmunoassay demonstrate similar results

Commercially available radioimmunoassays (RIAs) are frequently used to evaluate the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on steroidogenesis in rats. Currently there are limited data comparing steroid concentrations in rats as measured by RIAs to those obtained using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). This study evaluates the concordance of serum and urine steroid concentrations as quantified by select RIA kits and LC–MS/MS following exposure to an EDC, atrazine (ATR). Adult male rats were orally dosed with ATR (200mg/kg/day) or methylcellulose (1%, vehicle control) for 5days. Serum was collected and separated into aliquots for analysis. Serum was assayed by RIA for androstenedione (ANDRO), corticosterone (CORT), estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), progesterone (P4), and testosterone (T). Serum was extracted prior to LC–MS/MS analysis with positive electrospray ionization in multiple-reaction monitoring mode for ANDRO, CORT, P4, and T. E1 and E2 concentrations were quantified similarly by LC–MS/MS, following derivatization with dansyl chloride. To compare CORT values from urine, pregnant adult rats were orally dosed with either ATR (100mg/kg/day) or methylcellulose for 5days (i.e., gestational days 14–18). Urine samples were collected daily and assayed for CORT by RIA and LC–MS/MS as described above. Data analyses demonstrated significant agreement between the two detection methods as assessed by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, Bland–Altman analysis, and the interclass correlation coefficient. No statistically significant differences were observed between RIA and LC–MS/MS means for any of the steroids assayed. These findings indicate a significant correlation between the measurement of steroids within rat serum and urine using RIA kits and LC–MS/MS. Differences in the absolute measurements existed, but these were not statistically significant. These findings indicate that steroids may be reliably measured in rat biological media using RIAs or LC–MS/MS.