Quantitative determination of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in human urine by isotope dilution mass spectrometry: normal levels in hemochromatosis.

A previously developed method for quantitative determination of 8-hydroxyguanine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was modified to allow measurement of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in human urine. [4,5,6,8-(13)C4]8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine was prepared by enzymatic coupling of [4,5,6,8-(13)C4]8-hydroxyguanine to deoxyribose-1-phosphate. Samples of human urine (2 ml) were spiked with the labeled nucleoside (13 nmol) and subjected to solid phase extraction and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine thus isolated was hydrolyzed by treatment with aqueous formic acid, and the resulting 8-hydroxyguanine was converted into its tetrakis-trimethylsilyl derivative and subjected to gas-liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. Repeated determinations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in pools of urine showed coefficients of variation of 5 and 8% at concentrations of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine equal to 18 and 2 nM, respectively. Determination of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in samples of urine spiked with different amounts of the unlabeled nucleoside showed a mean recovery of 102%. Application of the analytical method to a group of 11 apparently healthy subjects (mean age, 47 years) showed a mean level of endogenously produced 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine equal to 1.33 +/- 0.29 micromol/mol creatinine. The level recorded for another group of 15 younger subjects (mean age, 28 years) was somewhat higher, that is, 1.58 +/- 0.84 micromol/mol creatinine, corresponding to a 24-h production rate of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine equal to 20.6 +/- 11.6 nmol (288 +/- 140 pmol/24 h x kg body weight). Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease characterized by increased absorption of iron from the gastrointestinal tract and deposition of iron in organs. Application of the analytical method to a group of 12 patients with hereditary hemochromatosis who were under treatment with venesections showed a mean level of urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine equal to 1.39 +/- 0.40 micromol/mol creatinine. This value was not significantly different from those of healthy subjects. The fact that these patients had only slight or moderate iron overload at the time of urinary sample collection may have influenced the urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in the present study.