The Vitamin D Status Among Tibetans

UVB from the sun and intake from food are the only human sources of vitamin D. Tibet is a unique region for comparisons of these sources: (1) it lies at a low latitude and at a high altitude and has very large annual fluences of UVB; (2) the traditional Tibetan food is poor in vitamin D. Blood samples were taken from 63 persons of different age, with different occupations and staying at different places. UVB doses at these places were measured. The samples were analyzed by a standard radioimmune assay for determination of the serum concentration of 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). The main finding was that among nomads, there seems to be severe vitamin D deficiency (serum levels of 25(OH)D < 30 n m ). We tentatively propose that the low level of 25(OH)D of nomads is related to their clothing and sun exposure habits. For persons of other occupations (students, teachers and farmers) the levels are higher, although a significant fraction of these persons also have lower levels than 75 n m , by many regarded as a limit for insufficiency related to a number of negative health conditions. The annual dose of vitamin D-generating UVB is about five times larger in Lhasa than in Oslo. Despite this, the average vitamin D status seems to be similar, except in the case of nomads. This phenomenon is certainly related to food habits. In conclusion, the 25(OH)D status among nomads in Tibet appears to be alarmingly low. However, for people of other occupations the status is more normal.     

Determination of sulfation pattern in brain glycosaminoglycans by chip-based electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and dermatan sulfate (DS) glycosaminoglycans display variability of sulfation in their constituent disaccharide repeats during chain elongation. Since a large proportion of the extracellular matrix of the central nervous system (CNS) is composed of proteoglycans, CS/DS disaccharide degree and profile of sulfation play important roles in the functional diversity of neurons, brain development, and some of its pathological states. To investigate the sulfation pattern of CS/DS structures expressed in CNS, we introduced here a novel method based on an advanced system encompassing fully automated chip nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) in the negative ion mode and high capacity ion trap multistage mass spectrometry (MS²–MS³) by collision-induced dissociation (CID). This method, introduced here for the first time in glycomics of brain glycosaminoglycans, was particularly applied to structural investigation of disaccharides obtained by β-elimination and digestion with chondroitin B and AC I lyase of hybrid CS/DS chains from wild-type mouse brain. Screening in the chip-MS mode of DS disaccharide fraction resulting after depolymerization with chondroitin B lyase revealed molecular ions assigned to monosulfated disaccharide species having a composition of 4,5-Δ-[IdoA-GalNAc]. By optimized CID MS²–MS³, fragment ions supporting the localization of sulfate ester group at C4 within GalNAc were produced. Chip ESI MS profiling of CS disaccharide fraction obtained by depolymerization of the same CS/DS chain using chondroitin AC I lyase indicated the occurrence of mono- and bisulfated 4,5-Δ-[GlcA-GalNAc]. The site of oversulfation was determined by MS²–MS³, which provided sequence patterns consistent with a rare GlcA-3-sulfate–GalNAc-6-sulfate structural motif.      

Synthesis and structural characterization of amino-functionalized polysaccharides

A variety of carbohydrates, in particular polysaccharides can be subjected to chemical modification to obtain derivatives with amphiphilic properties, which enable biochemical or biological reactions at the polymer surface. In the present work, a polydisperse maltodextrin mixture of average molecular weight 3000 was coupled with 1,6-hexamethylenediamine (HMD) via reductive amination reaction. Resulting products were characterized by thermal analysis and positive nanoelectrospray quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Both thermal analysis and MS screening confirmed the formation of the HMD-polysaccharide coupling products. Moreover, HMD-linked polysaccharide chains containing 2 to 26 glucose building blocks were identified by nanoESI Q-TOF MS. MS/MS fragmentation using collision-induced dissociation (CID) at low ion acceleration energies provided strong evidence for HMD-maltodextrin linkage formation and the set of sequence ions diagnostic for the composition and structure of a HMD-linked chain containing 18 glucose residues.      

Retention of configuration in the action of human plasma 3'-exonuclease on oligo(deoxynucleoside phosphorothioate). A new method for assignment of absolute configuration at phosphorus in isotopomeric deoxyadenosine 5'-O-[(18)O]phosphorothioate

A new method of analysis has allowed the exonucleolytic cleavage by human 3'-exonuclease to be determined. Hydrolysis by human plasma 3'-exonuclease proceeds with retention of configuration at phosphorus. The new method determines the sense of chirality at phosphorus in isotopomeric adenosine 5'-O-[(18)O]phosphorothioates. This is based on stereospecific two-step conversion of the mono-thionucleotide into the corresponding deoxyadenosine 5'-O-alpha-[(18)O]thiotriphosphate, followed by the use of terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry of the resulting elongated primer. Retention of configuration in the reaction of plasma 3'-exonuclease implies a two-step mechanism with two displacements on phosphorus. Inversion at each step leads to overall retention.     

A capillary electrophoresis and off-line capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry approach for ganglioside analysis

A systematic study for the optimization and implementation of high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) in conjunction with negative ion electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) for the analysis of complex glycolipids is described. The performance of the capillary electrophoresis (CE) and off-line CE/ESI-QTOF-MS approach has been explored for screening a complex ganglioside mixture from bovine brain. All instrumental and solution parameters demonstrated to require special adjustment and to have the most substantial effect on the CE separation, abundance of product ions produced in a low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) process and their detection by MS/MS, when attempting to identify and sequence single ganglioside molecular species from CE eluted fractions. Upon optimization of the experimental parameters, an efficient methodology emerged providing the general basic requirements for combined CE/ESI-MS analysis of this type of complex glycoconjugate.     

Structural characterization of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate oligosaccharides from bovine aorta by capillary electrophoresis and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical approach based on high-performance capillary electrophoresis (CE) in conjunction with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) has been developed for providing the basis to obtain new insights into the domain structure of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) moiety of proteoglycans. The feasibility and performance of the off-line CE/ESI-QTOF-MS approach in GAG oligosaccharide analysis were assessed by screening a chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (DS) oligosaccharide mixture obtained from bovine aorta by enzymatic depolymerization by chondroitin B lyase. The CS/DS mixture was analyzed by CE using 50 mM ammonium acetate, pH 12.0, dissolved in aqueous methanol (2:3; v/v), as a CE carrier. Structural identification of the GAG components was achieved using off-line CE/nanoESI-QTOF-MS and-MS/MS experiments. ESI-QTOF instrumental parameters were found to play an important role in the MS screening of the CE-separated GAG species. By optimizing the ESI conditions, oligosaccharides differing in chain length and degree of sulfation could be detected. The building block composition, the size of the carbohydrate chain, as well as structural features of the repeating HexA-GalNAc, HexA-GalNAc(S) units, have been determined using MS/MS by applying collision-induced dissociation at low energies. Cleavage of GAG chains by chondroitin B lyase occurs with formation of structural markers useful for identification of IdoA-containing domains.     

Simultaneous in-situ monitoring of parallel polymerization reactions using light scattering; a new tool for high-throughput screening

A recently introduced technique, simultaneous multiple sample light scattering (SMSLS), was used to monitor parallel polymerization reactions in situ. SMSLS is designed for real-time, high-throughput screening and provides a time-dependent light scattering signature for each reaction, which contains both qualitative and semiquantitative information. Qualitatively, the signature immediately indicates whether the reaction occurs or not, whether there is an initial lag period, and how long the reaction takes until it stops. The signature also provides estimates of the reaction rate and weight average molecular mass M(w), and its shape can help identify mechanistic aspects, for example, controlled versus free radical polymerization, presence of impurities, etc. The method is inherently adapted to small sample volumes and requires no special sample preparation or postpolymerization characterization. The demonstration here involved the free radical polymerization of acrylamide under varying conditions and should be readily applicable to a wide variety of other reactions. Results were cross-checked with multi-detector gel permeation chromatography.     

Investigation of the Separation of Higher Fatty Acid Methyl Esters by Reversed-Phase HPTLC

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Separations of eight methyl esters of higher fatty acids on RP-18 stationary phase with methanol—water and...