Simultaneous quantitative analysis of multiple sphingoid bases by stable isotope labeling assisted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Sphingoid bases (SBs) are one of important components of cell membranes, playing important roles in cellular biology. Meanwhile, SBs are associated with various metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, simultaneous quantitation of multiple SBs in biological samples could provide crucial information for uncovering underlying mechanisms of SBs related functions and diseases. However, existing methods are difficult to achieve simultaneous quantitation for multiple SBs due to the lack of isotope internal standards (ISs) of corresponding SBs. In the current study, we developed a highly sensitive method for the simultaneous detection of 26 SBs in biological samples by stable isotope labeling coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (SIL-UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis. In this respect, a pair of isotope labeling reagents, 3-(N, N-dimethylamino)propyl isothiocyanate (DMPI) and d4-3-(N, N-dimethylamino)propyl isothiocyanate (d4-DMPI), were synthesized and utilized to label SBs in biological samples and SB standards, respectively. The d4-DMPI labeled SB standards were used as ISs to calibrate quantitation deviation in MS analysis from the biological matrix. Using the developed method, we successfully quantitated 19 SBs in cells, 20 SBs in mice feces and 18 SBs in human serum samples. Three C17-SBs used as ISs in many reported works were even found in all prepared samples. In summary, the developed SIL-UHPLC-MS/MS analysis was demonstrated to be a promising method for the simultaneous determination of multiple SBs, which could facilitate the investigation of cellular function of SBs and pathogenesis of related diseases. [Display omitted] •DMPI and d4-DMPI were synthesized to label SBs.•d4-DMPI labeled SBs were used as ISs for simultaneous quantitation of SBs.•The developed method was applied in the quantitation of SBs from cells, mice feces and human serum samples.