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Tracing the nitrogen metabolites of glycine using 15 N‐glycine and mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Liu Linna,
Fu Tingting,
Xu Xunfu,
Fu Chuan,
Fang Meijuan,
Liu Yan,
Xu Pengxiang,
Zhao Yufen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.7132
Subject(s) - chemistry , glycine , purine metabolism , amino acid , biochemistry , metabolism , mass spectrometry , biosynthesis , purine , glycine cleavage system , enzyme , chromatography
Rationale Glycine is the smallest amino acid used in protein synthesis, but it is also a very important precursor for the biosynthesis of other nitrogen‐containing metabolites, such as purine nucleosides and nucleotides for synthesis of RNA, DNA etc. Abnormalities in glycine metabolism therefore cause diseases such as cancer. A quick and unambiguous method to trace the metabolites arising from glycine is required for targeting defect points within metabolic networks. Methods This paper describes a method for using 15 N‐glycine to culture A549 cancer cells for use with high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS 2 ) that can detect the (M+1)/M pair peaks appearing in the cell metabolites. The 1 Da difference in the pair peaks can be used to point out and identify the nitrogen metabolites of glycine. Results Thirteen nitrogen‐containing metabolites derived from glycine were confirmed. Among them were metabolites containing purine, such as adenine, adenosine, AMP, ADP, ATP, S‐adenosylmethionine and γ‐glutathione; these were the most sensitive to the 15 N‐glycine‐enrichment technique. Therefore, they are promising biomarkers for monitoring the glycine metabolism network. Conclusions The method developed here could be applied to investigations of metabolism of other amino acids, and for drug discovery studies targeting the enzymes related to amino acid metabolism. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.