Simultaneous extraction and detection of peptides, steroids, and proteins in small tissue samples

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Oct 9:14:1266985. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1266985. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The detection and quantification of hormones are important to assess the reproductive and stress status of experimental models and for the diagnosis of diseases in human and veterinary clinics. Traditionally, steroid, peptide, and protein hormones are analyzed in individual experiments using different extraction methodologies. With the new advancement on HPLC sorbents, the simultaneous measurement of hormones from different categories becomes possible. In this study, we present a novel sample processing strategy for the simultaneous extraction and detection of peptides, steroids, and proteins using high-resolution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We demonstrate the sensitivity of our method for small tissues by acquiring data from brain, pituitary gland, and gonads of single zebrafish samples. This approach promises to shed light on the hormonal pathways and their interrelationships, providing knowledge on the integration of hormone systems.

Keywords: LCMS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry); peptide quantification; protein measurement; solid phase extraction; steroid detection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Hormones
  • Humans
  • Peptides
  • Steroids / metabolism
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry* / methods
  • Zebrafish* / metabolism

Substances

  • Steroids
  • Hormones
  • Peptides

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the China Scholarship Council (DP), University of Ottawa Research Chair in Neuroendocrinology (VLT), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2021-03174 to V.L.T).