Simultaneous toxicokinetics characterization of acrylamide and its primary metabolites using a novel microdialysis isotope-dilution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method.

Acrylamide (AA) is a toxicant in high-temperature processed foods and an animal carcinogen. Upon absorption, AA is metabolized to glycidamide (GA) or conjugates with glutathione (AA-GSH). Important advantages of microdialysis coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MD-LC-MS/MS) include its minimization of potential losses during sample collection, storage and preparation, as well as an improvement in temporal resolution for toxicokinetics (TKs). We aimed to simultaneously study the TKs of AA and products of its primary metabolism using an isotope-dilution (ID) MD-LC-MS/MS method. MD probes implanted into the jugular vein/right atrium of anesthetized Sprague Dawley rats were connected to the ID-LC-MS/MS for continuous monitoring of AA, GA and AA-GSH in the blood every 15 min over 8 h following intraperitoneal AA administration (0.1 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg). AA, GA, and AA-GSH TKs followed linear kinetics: GA AUC/AA AUC = 0.11 and AA-GSH AUC/AA AUC = 0.011 at 5 mg/kg. Elimination half-life (Te1/2) values were 2.44 ± 0.70, 4.93 ± 2.37 and 3.47 ± 1.47 h for AA, GA and AA-GSH, respectively. GA TKs reached a plateau at 3-6 h, suggesting that metabolic saturation of AA and Te1/2 values of the analytes were prolonged with AA at 5 mg/kg. Our results demonstrate that oxidation of AA to GA overwhelmed the conjugation of AA with GSH. Our innovative MD-ID-LC-MS/MS method facilitates the simultaneous characterization of multiple TKs associated with toxicants and their active metabolites with excellent temporal resolution to capture metabolic saturation of AA to GA.

Characterization of primary glutathione conjugates with acrylamide and glycidamide: Toxicokinetic studies in Sprague Dawley rats treated with acrylamide.

Acrylamide (AA) is classified as a probable human carcinogen and is ubiquitous in foods processed at high temperatures. The carcinogenicity of AA has been attributed to its active metabolite, glycidamide (GA). Both AA and GA can spontaneously or enzymatically conjugate with glutathione (GSH) to form their corresponding GSH conjugates. Profiling AA-glutathione conjugate (AA-GSH) and GA-glutathione conjugates (2 isomers: GA2-GSH and GA3-GSH) in serum would better illustrate AA detoxification compared with urinary metabolite analysis. However, the lack of AA-, GA2, and GA3-GSH study remains a critical data gap. Our study aimed to investigate the toxicokinetics of AA-, GA2-and GA3-GSH in Sprague Dawley rats treated with 0.1 mg/kg, 1.0 mg/kg, or 5.0 mg/kg AA. Blood samples were collected for LC-MS/MS analysis of the GSH conjugate products. Within 24 h of treatment, we observed rapid formation, elimination, and linear kinetics of AA-, GA2-and GA3-GSH. The ∑GA-GSH AUC/AA-GSH AUC ratios were 0.14-0.29, similar to ∑GA/AA AUC in serum but different from ∑GA/AA-derived urinary mercapturic acids in rodents. Our analysis of AA- and GA-GSHs values represents direct detoxification of AA and GA in vivo. This study advances our understanding of sex and inter-species differences in AA detoxification and may refine the existing kinetic models for a more relevant risk extrapolation.

Synthesis, characterization and analysis of the acrylamide- and glycidamide-glutathione conjugates.

Acrylamide (AA) is reported present in high-temperature-processed food and classified as a possible human carcinogen. In vivo metabolic activation of AA by CYP 2E1 to glycidamide (GA) may play an important role on AA carcinogenicity. AA and GA can be detoxified by glutathione-S-transferase to form AA and isomeric GA glutathione conjugates (AA-, GA2- and GA3-GSH, respectively), which can be further metabolized to mercapturic acids (MAs). Although many studies analyzed MAs in urine of rodents and humans, few studies have characterized and analyzed the GSH conjugates. The objectives of this study were to synthesize, purify, and characterize AA-GSH, GA2-GSH, GA3-GSH, ((13)C3)-AA-GSH, ((13)C3)-GA2-GSH, and ((13)C3)-GA3-GSH to develop an isotope-dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to analyze AA- and GA-GSHs in blood of rats treated with AA. After purification and characterization of these conjugates, the LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated. This method reveals a limit of detection (S/N=3) at 0.017 and a limit of quantitation (S/N=10) at 0.05ng/mL of serum for AA-GSH, 0.075 and 0.25ng/mL for GA2-GSH, and 0.15 and 0.5ng/mL for GA3-GSH. Analyzed with this method, AA-GSH, GA2-GSH and GA3-GSH were 1651.1±374.5, 18.4±6.3 and 75.3±31.3ng/mL in blood of male rats at 2h after treatment with 5mg/kgbw of AA by ip injection. These results showed that the LC-MS/MS method was successfully developed to analyze AA-GSH, GA2-GSH and GA3-GSH with satisfying sensitivity of AA and GA which were conjugated by glutathione in vivo.