Determination of Testosterone Metabolites in Rat Hepatocytes with and without Cryopreservation by On-Line SPE Column-Switching LC and MS Detection

In a recently published paper development of a sensitive automated “on-line” solid-phase extraction (SPE)/RP-HPLC assay for 6β-hydroxytestosterone (6β-OHT) with corticosterone as the internal standard (IS) was reported and its potential for quantification of various testosterone metabolites in culture media reflecting metabolic activity of cultured human and animal hepatocytes demonstrated [1]. In this following contribution the technique has been extended to determination of another five testosterone metabolites in cultured rat hepatocytes using an identical “on-line” SPE/RP-HPLC procedure and detection by tandem MS-MS with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode as that described in [1]. All six testosterone metabolites, namely 2α-OHT, 2β-OHT, 6α-OHT, 6β-OHT, 7α-OHT and 16α-OHT, could be sufficiently separated from each other and thus an unequivocal assignment to the individual structures was achieved. Validation data are presented specifying the limits of quantitation as well as the mean values of the coefficients of variation (CV) for the target analytes and the accuracy obtained at five different days. Regio- and stereoselective testosterone hydroxylation by rat hepatocytes was measured in a long-term culture system with and without exposure to rifampicin as an inducer of liver CYP 3A4 activity. In addition, testosterone hydroxylation was analyzed in cultures of cryopreserved hepatocytes that had been stored at −196 °C. The rat hepatocytes were cultured after thawing for up to 11 days and induction of testosterone hydroxylase activity could be demonstrated in cultures which underwent a new cryopreservation protocol. This paper is dedicated to Professor Hinrich Cramer on the occasion of his 75th birthday.