title: A validated quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry method for monitoring isotopologues to evaluate global modified cytosine ratios in genomic DNA.
abstract: 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and 5-methylcytosine (5mC) represent important epigenetic modifications to DNA, and a sensitive analytical method is required to determine the levels of 5hmC in the genomic DNA of tumor cells or cultured cell lines because 5hmC is present at particular low levels in these cells. We have developed a sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometric method for quantifying 5-hydroxymethyldeoxycytidine (5hmdC), 5-methyldeoxycytidine (5mdC), and deoxyguanosine (dG) levels using stable isotope labeled internal standards, and used this method to estimate the global level of 2 modified cytosines in genomic DNA prepared from small number of cells. The quantification limits for 5hmdC, 5mdC and dG were 20pM, 2nM and 10nM, respectively. MRM transitions for isotopologue (isotopologue-MRM) were used to quantify the 5mdC and dG levels because of the abundance of these nucleosides relative to 5hmdC. The use of isotopologue-MRM for the abundant nucleosides could also avoid the saturation of the detector, and allow for all three nucleosides to be analyzed simultaneously without the need for the dilution and re-injection of samples into the instrument. The global ratios of modified cytosine nucleosides to dG were estimated following the quantification of each nucleoside in the hydrolysate of genomic DNA. The limit of estimation for the global 5hmC level was less than 0.001% using 200ng of DNA. Using this method, we found that MLL-TET1, which a fusion protein in acute myelogenous leukemia, did not produce 5hmC, but interfered with TET1 activity to produce 5hmC in cells. Our analytical method is therefore a valuable tool for further studies aiming at a deeper understanding of the role of modified cytosine in the epigenetic regulation of cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncology, Pharmacy Practice and Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan; Center for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, Daiichi Sankyo RD Novare Co., Ltd., 1-16-13, Kitakasai, Edogawa, Tokyo 134-8630, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.affiliation: Oncology Research Laboratories, R&D division, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., 1-2-58, Hiromachi, Shinagawa, Tokyo 140-8710, Japan.
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncology, Pharmacy Practice and Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jinno
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncology, Pharmacy Practice and Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncology, Pharmacy Practice and Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oncology, Pharmacy Practice and Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan. Electronic address: ytomioka@m.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tomioka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D003596:Cytosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D057230:Limit of Detection; D051379:Mice; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D007554:Isotopes; D003596:Cytosine; D004247:DNA
keywords: 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine; 5-Methylcytosine; Isotopologue-MRM; LC–MS/MS; Mixed lineage leukemia; Ten–eleven translocation