New untargeted metabolic profiling combining mass spectrometry and isotopic labeling: application on Aspergillus fumigatus grown on wheat

Characterization of fungal secondary metabolomes has become a challenge due to the industrial applications of many of these molecules, and also due to the emergence of fungal threats to public health and natural ecosystems. Given that, the aim of the present study was to develop an untargeted method to analyze fungal secondary metabolomes by combining high-accuracy mass spectrometry and double isotopic labeling of fungal metabolomes. The strain NRRL 35693 of Aspergillus fumigatus , an important fungal pathogen, was grown on three wheat grain substrates: (1) naturally enriched grains (99% (12)C), (2) grains enriched 96.8% with (13)C, (3) grains enriched with 53.4% with (13)C and 96.8% with (15)N. Twenty-one secondary metabolites were unambiguously identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) analysis. AntiBase 2012 was used to confirm the identity of these metabolites. Additionally, on the basis of tandem mass spectrometry (MS(n)) experiments, it was possible to identify for the first time the formula and the structure of fumigaclavine D, a new member of the fumigaclavines family. Post biosynthesis degradation of tryptoquivaline F by methanol was also identified during HPLC-HRMS analysis by the detection of a carbon atom of nonfungal origin. The interest of this method lies not only on the unambiguous determination of the exact chemical formulas of fungal secondary metabolites but also on the easy discrimination of nonfungal products. Validation of the method was thus successfully achieved in this study, and it can now be applied to other fungal metabolomes, offering great possibilities for the discovery of new drugs or toxins.

Contribution of uniformly 13C-enriched sterigmatocystin to the study of its pulmonary metabolism

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi which can cause a wide range of systemic effects. Human health effects of inhaled mycotoxins remain poorly documented, despite the large amounts present, associated with air-borne particles. Among these mycotoxins, sterigmatocystin is one of the most prevalent. Because its chemical structure is close to that of the aflatoxins, we studied its metabolism and its cellular consequences when in contact with the airway epithelium, using the mass spectral signature from the 10% (13)C uniformly enriched sterigmatocystin. The metabolism was studied in vitro, using recombinant cytochrome P450s enzymes, and in porcine tracheal epithelial cell (PTEC) primary cultures at an air-liquid interface. The metabolites were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Expressed enzymes and PTECs were exposed to uniformly (13)C-enriched sterigmatocystin to confirm the relationship between sterigmatocystin and its metabolites because this isotopic cluster shape is conserved for all metabolites and their product ions. Incubation of sterigmatocystin with recombinant cytochrome P450 1A1 led to the formation of three metabolites identified as monohydroxysterigmatocystin, dihydroxysterigmatocystin and one glutathione adduct, the latter after the formation of a transient intermediate. In the PTEC cultures, sterigmatocystin metabolism resulted in a glucuro-conjugate. Two other products were detected, a sulfo-conjugate and a glucuro-conjugate of hydroxysterigmatocystin upon cytochrome P450 1A1 induction. This is the first study to report sterigmatocystin metabolism in airway epithelium, and it suggests that, contrary to the aflatoxins, sterigmatocystin is mainly detoxified into its conjugates and is unable to produce significant amounts of reactive metabolites in respiratory cells, at least in pigs.

In vitro cytochrome p450 formation of a mono-hydroxylated metabolite of zearalenone exhibiting estrogenic activities: possible occurrence of this metabolite in vivo

The mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEN), as well as its reduced metabolites, which belong to the endocrine disruptor bio-molecule family, are substrates for various enzymes involved in steroid metabolism. In addition to its reduction by the steroid dehydrogenase pathway, ZEN also interacts with hepatic detoxification enzymes, which convert it into hydroxylated metabolites (OH-ZEN). Due to their structures to that of estradiol, ZEN and its derived metabolites bind to the estrogen receptors and are involved in endocrinal perturbations and are possibly associated with estrogen-dependent cancers. The primary aim of this present study was to identify the enzymatic cytochrome P450 isoforms responsible for the formation of the most abundant OH-ZEN. We thus studied its in vitro formation using hepatic microsomes in a range of animal model systems including man. OH-ZEN was also recovered in liver and urine of rats treated orally with ZEN. Finally we compared the activity of ZEN and its active metabolites (α-ZAL and OH-ZEN) on estrogen receptors using HeLa ER-α and ER-β reporter cell lines as reporters. OH-ZEN estrogenic activities were revealed to be limited and not as significant as those of ZEN or α-ZAL.