title: New methods for analysis of oxysterols and related compounds by LC-MS.
abstract: Oxysterols are oxygenated forms of cholesterol or its precursors. They are formed enzymatically and via reactive oxygen species. Oxysterols are intermediates in bile acid and steroid hormone biosynthetic pathways and are also bioactive molecules in their own right, being ligands to nuclear receptors and also regulators of the processing of steroid regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) to their active forms as transcription factors regulating cholesterol and fatty acid biosynthesis. Oxysterols are implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple disease states ranging from atherosclerosis and cancer to multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Analysis of oxysterols is challenging on account of their low abundance in biological systems in comparison to cholesterol, and due to the propensity of cholesterol to undergo oxidation in air to generate oxysterols with the same structures as those present endogenously. In this article we review the mass spectrometry-based methods for oxysterol analysis paying particular attention to analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Electronic address: w.j.griffiths@swansea.ac.uk.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abdel-Khalik
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Crick
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
authors.forename: Eylan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yutuc
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Electronic address: y.wang@swansea.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Yuqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D000072376:Oxysterols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D054928:Validation Studies as Topic
chemical_list: D000072376:Oxysterols; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: Cholesterol; Derivatisation; Epoxycholesterol; Hydroxycholesterol; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Sterol