Strategic identification of in vitro metabolites of 13-desmethyl spirolide C using liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry.

A strategy to identify metabolites of a marine biotoxin, 13-desmethyl spirolide C, has been developed using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS). Metabolites were generated in vitro through incubation with human liver microsomes. A list of metabolites was established by selecting precursor ions of a common fragment ion characteristic of the spirolide toxin which was known to contain a cyclic imine ring. Accurate mass measurements were subsequently used to confirm the molecular formula of each biotransformation product. Using this approach, a total of nine phase I metabolites was successfully identified with deviations of mass accuracy less than 2 ppm. The biotransformations observed included hydroxylation, dihydroxylation, oxidation of a quaternary methyl group to hydroxymethyl or carboxylic acid groups, dehydrogenation and hydroxylation, as well as demethylation and dihydroxylation reactions. In a second step, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was performed to elucidate structures of the metabolites. Using the unique fragment ions in the spectra, the structures of the three major metabolites, 13,19-didesmethyl-19-carboxy spirolide C, 13,19-didesmethyl-19-hydroxymethyl spirolide C and 13-desmethyl-17-hydroxy spirolide C, were assigned. Levels of 13-desmethyl spirolide C and its metabolites were monitored at selected time points over a 32-h incubation period with human liver microsomes. It was determined that 13,19-didesmethyl-19-carboxy spirolide C became the predominant metabolite after 2 h of incubation. The stability plot of 13-desmethyl spirolide C showed first-order kinetics for its metabolism and the intrinsic clearance was calculated to be 41 μL/min/mg, suggesting first-pass metabolism may contribute to limiting oral toxicity of 13-desmethyl spirolide C.