Objective: Cholesteryl esters (CEs) are composed of various fatty acyl chains attached to the hydroxyl groups of cholesterol, and abnormalities in their metabolism are related to many diseases. This study aimed to develop an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole exactive mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive MS) method to identify the CEs in plasma.
Methods: First, the MS fragmentation patterns were investigated using seven commercial CE standards. Then, the CEs in plasma were characterized through the accurate mass data of precursor ions and characteristic product ions. A strategy of step-by-step m/z scans in a narrow range was proposed to identify more trace CEs by the full-scan data-dependent MS/MS (ddMS2) mode.
Results: A total of 50 CE species consisting of 55 regioisomers were identified in human plasma. Among them, two species were reported for the first time.
Conclusion: This study is the most comprehensive identification of CE species in human plasma to date. These results will contribute to the in-depth profiling of CEs in human plasma and provide guidance for animal model selection when studying lipid-related diseases.
Keywords: cholesteryl ester; plasma; profile; ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole exactive mass spectrometry.
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