3-Epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is a poor substrate for SULT2A1: Analysis of its 3-sulfate in cord plasma and recombinant human SULT2A1 incubate

[Display omitted] •Trace 3-epi-25(OH)D3 3-sulfate was detected and identified in the cord plasma.•In vitro sulfation for 25(OH)D3 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 using SULT2A1 was examined.•3-Epi-25(OH)D3 was a poor substrate for SULT2A1 as compared to 25(OH)D3.•Derivatization-assisted LC/ESI-MS/MS worked well for identification of the sulfate. A variety of metabolites derived from 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3], including its 3-epimer [Epi-25(OH)D3] and 3-O-sulfate [25(OH)D3-3S], is found in human plasma/serum. We hypothesized that the 3-O-sulfate of Epi-25(OH)D3 [Epi-25(OH)D3-3S] might be present in plasma/serum. Clarifying this point could improve our understanding of the metabolism of vitamin D3. In this study, we first carefully analyzed the cord plasma samples by derivatization-assisted liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and demonstrated the occurrence of Epi-25(OH)D3-3S in the plasma. However, the concentration ratio of Epi-25(OH)D3-3S to 25(OH)D3-3S (sulfated form) was infinitely lower than the ratio of Epi-25(OH)D3 to 25(OH)D3 (unconjugated form). To determine what caused this result, we next performed an in vitro experiment of the 3-O-sulfation for 25(OH)D3 and Epi-25(OH)D3 using the recombinant human sulfotransferase (SULT) 2A1. This in vitro experiment revealed that Epi-25(OH)D3 is a poor substrate for the 3-O-sulfation catalyzed by SULT2A1 as compared to 25(OH)D3. This substrate specificity of SULT2A1 would be the main cause for the result obtained from the analysis of the cord plasma samples.