This has been indeed a totally unexpected and surprising invitation from the Editors of Mass Spectrometry Reviews, and I want to thank them, as well as any other colleagues whom I suspect may have had something to do with it, for brightening my retirement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Objective: To evaluate the generation of halogenated fatty acids in the areas of fat necrosis during acute pancreatitis and to evaluate the effects of these molecules on the ensuing inflammatory process.Background: Lipid mediators derived from adipose tissue have been implicated in the progression of acute pancreatitis, although their precise role remains unknown.Methods: Acute pancreatitis was induced in rats by intraductal infusion of 3.5% sodium taurocholate. Fatty acid chlorohydrins (FA-Cl) were measured in adipose tissue, ascitic fluid, and plasma by mass spectrometry. Chlorohydrins were also instilled in the rats' peritoneal cavity, and their effects on peritoneal macrophages activation and in systemic inflammation were evaluated. Finally, they have also been measured in plasma from human patients with acute pancreatitis.Results: Induced acute pancreatitis results in a substantial release not only of free fatty acids but also of the chlorohydrins of both oleic and linoleic acids from adipose tissue. In plasma, only the chlorohydrin of oleic acid was detected. Administration of 250-mu M lipid chlorohydrins, which is the concentration found in ascitic fluid, induces the expression of TNF alpha and interleukin-1 beta in peritoneal macrophages and increases the systemic inflammatory response in pancreatitis. Finally, increased concentrations of oleic acid chlorohydrin have been found in plasma of human patients with pancreatitis.Conclusions: During acute pancreatitis, adipose tissue release FA-Cl, which exacerbate the systemic inflammatory response.

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance (CFTR) alterations are involved in the overproduction of prostaglandins (PG) in CF in vitro. We assessed the relationship between PGE-M and PGD-M urinary metabolites of PGE2 and PGD2 and CF severity. Twenty-four controls and 35 CF patients were recruited. PGE-M and PGD-M levels were measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and results were expressed as median and 25th-75th interquartile of ng/mg creatinine (Cr). PGE-M (15.63; 9.07-43.35ng/mg Cr) and PGD-M (2.16; 1.43-3.53ng/mg Cr) concentrations were higher in CF than in controls: PGE-M, (6.63; 4.35-8.60ng/mg Cr); PGD-M (1.23; 0.96-1.54ng/mg Cr). There was no correlation between metabolite levels and spirometric values. Patients with pancreatic insufficiency (n=29) had higher PGE-M levels (19.09; 9.36-52.69ng/mg Cr) than those with conserved function (n=6) (9.61; 5.78-14.34ng/mg Cr). PGE-M levels were associated with genotype severity: mild (7.14; 5.76-8.76, n=8), moderate (16.67; 13.67-28.62ng/mg Cr, n=5) and severe (22.82; 10.67-84.13ng/mg Cr). Our study confirms the key role of CFTR in the regulation of the cyclooxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism found in in vitro studies.

Major plasma protein families play different roles in blood physiology and hemostasis and in immunodefense. Other proteins in plasma can be involved in signaling as chemical messengers or constitute biological markers of the status of distant tissues. In this respect, the plasma phosphoproteome holds potentially relevant information on the mechanisms modulating these processes through the regulation of protein activity. In this work we describe for the first time a collection of phosphopeptides identified in human plasma using immunoaffinity separation of the seven major serum protein families from other plasma proteins, SCX fractionation, and TiO(2) purification prior to LC-MS/MS analysis. One-hundred and twenty-seven phosphosites in 138 phosphopeptides mapping 70 phosphoproteins were identified with FDR < 1%. A high-confidence collection of phosphosites was obtained using a combined search with the OMSSA, SEQUEST, and Phenyx search engines.

As the title implies, the author undertakes a personal retrospective on the developments that since 1965 have shaped MS and taken it from a position of simply playing a role in protein chemistry to becoming an indispensable tool in proteomics, all in the past 40-year span. The article reviews the MS timeline of events, stopping at various time points where MS made significant contributions to protein chemistry or where the development of new instrumentation for MS represented a major advance for peptide and protein work. Major highlights in the field and their significance for peptide and protein characterization are covered, starting from the pioneering work carried out in the 1960s on peptide derivative formation and sequencing with instrumentation proper of that time, to later work done with triple, quad, and four-sector instruments, and on to the more recent work on the characterization of the proteome with ion traps, time-of-flight (TOF) instruments, and new ionization and tagging techniques.

In 1981 Spain went through a unique epidemic associated with a food-borne vector, affecting more than 20,000 people with over 800 deaths, which came to be known as the Toxic Oil Syndrome (TOS). Early epidemiological studies showed a link between this illness and the ingestion of rapeseed oil denatured with 2% aniline. This oil, originally aniline-denatured for industrial use, was fraudulently processed in an attempt to remove free aniline, and marketed as edible oil. Fatty acid anilides (FAA), monoesters and diesters of 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol (PAP) are present in oil samples as they arise in the refining process from reactions of aniline with constituent fatty acids and triglycerides of the oil matrix and are the only extraneous compounds found in these samples. To expand the search for the causative agents in TOS-associated oils and to look for new aniline-related compounds, an exhaustive characterization of laboratory-processed oils was undertaken. These oils, in the presence of aniline doped with 14C labelled aniline, were submitted to the laboratory conditions required for the generation of PAPs and FAAs. Laboratory-generated oil samples were submitted to a liquid-liquid extraction procedure to remove the unreacted aniline. The extract was processed by double solid-phase extraction to improve detection limits for minor amine-containing compounds in oils. The extracts enriched in aniline derivatives were submitted to on-line HPLC-UV-APCI-MS. Using two-dimensional ion maps, the components of several families of derivatives were readily identified. Additionally, the extracts were also fractionated by HPLC-UV and the fractions were analyzed by HPLC-APCI-MS/MS to obtain structural information. Standards of some of these compounds were synthesized and analyzed to confirm the results. A total of 115 aniline derivatives from 9 aniline-related families were identified in these oil samples. These included fatty acid anilides and an extensive array of phenylaminopropanediol esters distributed in eight major compound classes.

Toxic oil syndrome (TOS) is a disease that appeared in Spain in 1981 as a consequence of the ingestion of an aniline-adulterated oil illegally marketed as edible. TOS affected more than 20 000 people and produced over 400 deaths in the first 18 months after the outbreak. There is evidence that genetic factors could play a role in the susceptibility of individuals towards the disease. Recently, we suggested that haptoglobin (Hp) polymorphism could also play a role in TOS. To provide a rapid method for high-throughput Hp phenotyping, we developed a two-step MALDI-TOF procedure that allows specific identification of the three common Hp alpha chains. Resolution of the homologous alpha-1s and alpha-1f chains, which have a mass difference of only 0.043 Da, is obtained after guanidination of the protein with O-methylisourea. We applied this procedure to the study of the distribution of the Hp alleles HP1s, HP1f, HP2 in a control versus a TOS-affected population, both originally exposed to the toxic oil. The MALDI-TOF proteotyping method was validated by a parallel analysis of the serum samples by 2-DE. Data obtained from 54 TOS cases and 48 control individuals indicate significant differences in the distribution of Hp phenotypes in the two populations.

Systemic prostacyclin and thromboxane A2 production in rat experimental acute pancreatitis has been evaluated by measuring the urinary excretion of the 2,3-dinor 6-keto prostaglandin F1α and 2,3-dinor thromboxane B2, respectively. Acute pancreatitis was induced by intraductal administration of 4.5% sodium taurocholate (0.1 ml/100 mg body weight) and intravenous cerulein perfusion (5 μg/kg/hr) for 6 hr, respectively. Urinary excretion of 2,3-dinor 6-keto prostaglandin F1α and 2,3-dinor thromboxane B2 were much more important in sodium taurocholate- than in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. These data confirm an altered prostacyclin and thromboxane metabolism occurring in experimental acute pancreatitis. Phospholipase A2 activity and the effect of gabexate mesilate on the arachidonate metabolism were also evaluated.

ascorbic acid to 20O-L plasmasamples to avoid possible losses due to oxidative degradation. Such a high concentration of ascorbic acid results in a gross peak at the beginning of the chromatogram and precludes the electrochemical detection of any other components eluting ahead of 5HIAA. Wehave now tested several different concentrations of ascorbic acid to improve this determination. Addition of 20 to 50 L of a 1 g/L solution of ascorbic acid not only fulfills the antioxidant requirement, it also results in liquid-chromatographic profilesin which the peak corresponding to serotonin (5HT) is also present and well resolved from other components (Figure 1). Thus, this parent amine of 5HIAA can also be measured.

The present study evaluates the effect of ischemic preconditioning on interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) generation following hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in normal and steatotic livers as well as the role of nitric oxide (NO) in this process. Increased IL-1beta and IL-10 levels were observed in normal livers after I/R. Steatotic livers showed higher IL-1beta levels than normal livers, and IL-10 at control levels. The injurious role of IL-1beta and the benefits of IL-10 on hepatic I/R injury was shown with the use of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), anti-IL-10 polyclonal antibody against IL-10 (anti-IL-10) and exogenous IL-10. The effective dose of these treatments was different in both types of livers. Preconditioning prevented IL-1beta release and increased IL-10 generation after I/R in normal and steatotic livers. IL-1beta or anti-IL-10 pretreatments reversed the benefits of preconditioning. IL-1beta action inhibition in a preconditioned group that was pretreated with anti-IL-10 did not modify the benefits of preconditioning. In addition, anti-IL-10 pretreatment in the preconditioned group resulted in IL-1beta levels comparable to those observed after I/R. NO inhibition eliminated the benefits of preconditioning on IL-10 release, IL-1beta levels, and hepatic injury. In conclusion, preconditioning, through IL-10 overproduction, inhibits IL-1beta release and the ensuing hepatic I/R injury in normal and steatotic livers. IL-10 generation induced by preconditioning could be mediated by NO.

Toxic oil syndrome (TOS) is a disease that appeared in Spain in 1981. It affected more than 20 000 people and produced over 300 deaths in the first 2 years. In this paper, a prospective study on the differences in gene expression in sera between a control versus a TOS-affected population, both originally exposed to the toxic oil, is presented. Differential protein expression was analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Several problems related with serum analysis by 2-DE were addressed in order to improve protein detection in the gel images. Three new commercial systems for albumin depletion were tested to optimize the detection of minor proteins that can be obscured by the presence of a few families of high abundance proteins (albumin, immunoglobulins). Other factors, such as the use of nonionic reductants or the presence of thiourea in the gels, were also tested. From these optimized images, a group of 329 major gel spots was located, matched and compared in serum samples. Thirty-five of these protein spots were found to be under- or overexpressed in TOS patients (> three-fold increase or decrease). Proteins in the differential spots were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight peptide map fingerprinting and database search. Several haptoglobin isoforms were found to be differentially expressed, showing expression phenotypes that could be related with TOS affection. Haptoglobin phenotypes have been previously reported to have important biological and clinical consequences and have been described as risk factors for several diseases.

Background: Xanthine oxidoreductase has been proposed to play a role in the development of local and systemic effects of acute pancreatitis. Under physiologic conditions, the enzyme exists mainly as xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) but can be converted by proteolytic cleavage to its superoxide-generating form xanthine oxidase (XOD). In addition to its intracellular location XDH/XOD is also associated to the polysaccharide chains of proteoglycans on the external endothelial cell membrane.In the early stages of acute pancreatitis, this enzyme seems to be arising from its mobilization from the gastrointestinal endothelial cell surface. Taking into account the ability of alpha-amylase to hydrolyze the internal alpha-1,4 linkages of polysaccharides, we wanted to elucidate the involvement of alpha-amylase in XDH/XOD mobilization from the gastrointestinal endothelial cell surface and the relevance of the ascitic fluid (AF) as the source of alpha-amylase in experimental acute pancreatitis.Methods: Acute pancreatitis was induced in male Wistar rats by intraductal administration of 5% sodium taurocholate. In another experimental group 3000 U/Kg alpha-amylase was i.v. administered. The concentrations of XDH, XOD and alpha-amylase in plasma and AF and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in lung have been evaluated. In additional experiments, the effect of peritoneal lavage and the absorption of alpha-amylase present in the AF by an isolated intestine have been determined.Results: Similar increase in XDH+XOD activity in plasma was observed after induction of acute pancreatitis and after i.v. administration of alpha-amylase. Nevertheless, the conversion from XDH to XOD was only observed in the pancreatitis group. Lung inflammation measured as MPO activity was observed only in the pancreatitis group. In addition peritoneal lavage prevented the increase in alpha-amylase and XDH+XOD in plasma after induction of pancreatitis. Finally, it was observed that alpha-amylase is absorbed from the AF by the intestine.Conclusions: During the early stages of acute pancreatitis, alpha-amylase absorbed from AF through the gastrointestinal tract could interfere with the binding of XDH/XOD attached to glycoproteins of the endothelial cells. Proteolytic enzymes convert XDH into its oxidase form promoting an increase in circulating XOD that has been reported to be one of the mechanisms involved in the triggering of the systemic inflammatory process.

Combined chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques and in particular liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) have been contributing in a decisive way to the progress of life sciences in general. Thus, the number of document entries in the US National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) for articles dealing with LC-MS was 738 in 1991 and 2285 in 2001, with a total of 13 147 for the whole 10-year period, an increase of 310%. From these figures, we can ascertain that the total usage of combined LC-MS techniques is of the order of 40% relative to all of the MS publications collected in MEDLINE for the same period. However, from the perspective of real advances in medicine, it becomes difficult to identify what is outstanding in this field. The aim of this review was not to provide another LC-MS review, but an overview of the current status of the presence, visibility and impact of combined LC-MS techniques in biomedical research. The idea being to spot "highlight" literature contributions with the potential to become in the short or medium term real assets in a doctor's daily medical practice. In other words, after several truly remarkable technical achievements reported within the past decade, are we any closer to making LC-MS a useful and practical diagnostic tool for molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine? To approach this question, a literature survey was carried out to define: (i) the presence of LC-MS in the biomedical literature (MEDLINE) and its weight relative to the whole field of biological and biomedical mass spectrometry; (ii) the role of LC-MS in recent milestone biomedical contributions; and (iii) the present and future role of new LC-MS technology in medical diagnosis.

This study was designed to evaluate whether ischemic preconditioning could confer protection against liver and lung damage associated with liver transplantation. The effect of preconditioning on the xanthine/xanthine oxidase (XOD) system in liver grafts subjected to 8 and 16 hours of cold ischemia was also evaluated. Increased xanthine levels and marked conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) to XOD were observed after hepatic cold ischemia. Xanthine/XOD could play a role in the liver and lung damage associated with liver transplantation. This assumption is based on the observation that inhibition of XOD reduced postischemic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and hepatic injury as well as ensuing lung inflammatory damage, including neutrophil accumulation, oxidative stress, and edema formation. Ischemic preconditioning reduced xanthine accumulation and conversion of XDH to XOD in liver grafts during cold ischemia. This could diminish liver and lung damage following liver transplantation. In the liver, preconditioning prevented postischemic ROS generation and hepatic injury as well as the injurious effects in the lung following liver transplantation. Administration of xanthine and XOD to preconditioned rats led to hepatic ROS and transaminase levels similar to those found after reperfusion and abolished the protective effect of preconditioning on the lung inflammatory damage. In conclusion, ischemic preconditioning reduces both liver and lung damage following liver transplantation. This endogenous protective mechanism is capable of blocking xanthine/XOD generation in liver grafts during cold ischemia.

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of ischemic preconditioning and Bcl-2 overexpression against the liver and lung damage that follow hepatic ischemia-reperfusion and investigates the underlying protective mechanisms. Preconditioning and Bcl-2, respectively, reduced the increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP)-2 levels observed after hepatic reperfusion. Bcl-2 overexpression or anti-MIP-2 pretreatment seems to be more effective than preconditioning or anti-TNF pretreatment against inflammatory response, microcirculatory disorders, and subsequent hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. Furthermore, each one of these strategies individually was unable to completely inhibit hepatic injury. The combination of preconditioning and Bcl-2 overexpression as well as the combined anti-TNF and anti-MIP-2 pretreatment totally prevented hepatic injury, whereas the benefits of preconditioning and Bcl-2 were abolished by TNF and MIP-2. In contrast to preconditioning, Bcl-2 did not modify lung damage induced by hepatic reperfusion. This could be explained by the differential effect of both treatments on TNF release. Anti-TNF therapy or preconditioning, by reducing TNF release, reduced pulmonary inflammatory response, whereas the benefits of preconditioning on lung damage were abolished by TNF. Thus, the induction of both Bcl-2 overexpression in liver and preconditioning, as well as pharmacological strategies that simulated their benefits, such as anti-TNF and anti-MIP-2 therapies, could be new strategies aimed to reduce lung damage and inhibit the hepatic injury associated with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion.

An update is presented covering the latest developments in the interfacing of liquid-phase separation systems and mass spectrometers. The interfacing devices presented are those developed for continuous-flow matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization, micro- and nano-liquid chromatography/masspectrometry (MS), capillary electrophoresis/MS and on-chip separation technologies/MS. From the information that can be found in the most recent literature on the topic, it is evident that the trend towards the miniaturization of separation and interface devices is gaining ground. This can be rationalized by the substantial gains in sensitivity for the detection and study of extremely low levels of analytes and especially of high molecular mass biopolymers.

Toxic Oil Syndrome (TOS) was an epidemic disease related to the consumption of rapeseed oil denatured with aniline that made its sudden appearance in Spain in 1981. The fatty acid esters of 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol (PAP), which is a chemical class of by-products resulting from the reaction of aniline with oil components, have shown a strong association with TOS-related oils. These compounds also show some structural similarities to platelet-activating factor (PAF). In search of a toxic agent that could explain the widespread systemic effects observed in TOS patients, we investigated the intestinal absorption and biotransformation of the different PAP esters found in TOS-related oil samples and the possible pathophysiological effect of these mediators and their metabolic products if acting as PAF analogs. Results indicate that PAP esters are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and are distributed and stored in different organs, particularly in the liver and brown adipose tissue. PAP in these organs showed different patterns of fatty acids, indicating the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to modify the fatty acid composition of the parent PAP. Thus, the fatty acid profile of the PAP esters found in intestine appears to be related to the type of oil used as vehicle. Some of these PAP esters, when a long acyl chain was present in the sn-1 position of the molecule, showed an inhibitory effect on the PAF synthesis. This is an important observation in line with the systemic nature of the disease.

Fatty acid esters of 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol are currently considered the best chemical markers of toxic oils related to the Spanish toxic oil syndrome. Recent research in this area has undertaken the exhaustive and quantitative characterization of these compounds in oils collected during the epidemic outbreak. Current methods developed in this laboratory are based on solid phase extraction (SPE) using SCX cartridges followed by HPLC-APCI/MS/MS quantification. To circumvent the long and tedious extraction procedure, the SPE protocol was adapted for automatic extraction and the problems derived from the use of the immiscible solvents required for the SCX extraction were solved. Linearity of the analytical method was found in the same range as for the manual method. Extraction recoveries were 87 and 75% for 2-hydroxy-3-(N-phenylamino)propyl linoleate and 2-(linoleyloxy)-3-(N-phenylamino)propyl linoleate, respectively, and the corresponding coefficients of variation were approximately 1%, greatly improving reproducibility over manual procedures.