Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based In Vitro Metabolic Profiling Reveals Altered Enzyme Expressions in Eicosanoid Metabolism

The study from 2016 developed a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method to profile 32 eicosanoids, which are inflammatory metabolites of arachidonic acid. The method, validated with good linearity (R²>0.99) and precision (% CV from 4.7 to 10.3%), was applied to rabbit liver S9 fractions to assess the impact of epitestosterone on eicosanoid metabolism. It was found that epitestosterone treatment reduced levels of eicosanoids produced by cyclooxygenases, similar to the action of COX inhibitors like celecoxib and ibuprofen. The study concluded that the LC-MS method is reliable for eicosanoid profiling and can help evaluate the metabolic changes induced by drugs during eicosanoid metabolism. However, the study noted limitations such as species differences in lipid metabolism and non-physiological doses of epitestosterone. The research was supported by grants from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program.