Quantitative analysis of heparan sulfate using isotopically labeled calibrants

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 3; no. 1; p. 425
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhangjie, Arnold, Katelyn, Xu, Yongmei, Pagadala, Vijayakanth, Su, Guowei, Myatt, Hannah, Linhardt, Robert J., Liu, Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.08.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/1647/2196/2197; 631/45/72/1205; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Disaccharides; Glycosaminoglycans; Heparan sulfate; Life Sciences; Mass spectroscopy; Polysaccharides; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01150-6

Heparan sulfate is a sulfated polysaccharide that displays essential physiological functions. Here, we report a LC-MS/MS-based method for quantitatively determining the individual disaccharide composition and total amount of heparan sulfate. Using eight 13 C-labeled disaccharide calibrants and one 13 C-labeled polysaccharide calibrant, we complete the analysis in one-pot process. The method is both sensitive and has the throughput to analyze heparan sulfate from mouse tissues and plasma. Wang et al. describe a strategy for quantitatively performing composition analysis of heparan sulfate using 13 C-labeled disaccharides and polysaccharides that mimic the glycosaminoglycan chemical structure. They further show that these isotopically labelled small molecules can be used as internal standards for mass spectrometry analysis of heparan sulfate derived from mouse tissue and plasma.