Quantification and ¹³C-Tracer analysis of total reduced glutathione by HPLC-QTOFMS/MS

Glutathione is an essential intra- and extracellular antioxidant. The level of glutathione in the body is highly related to different disease states and is a useful indicator of disease risk and oxidative stress status. We have developed a sensitive, selective, and comprehensive LC-MS/MS method for the absolute quantification and ¹³C-tracer analysis of total glutathione using dithiothreitol for the reduction of glutathione disulfide. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.01 μM, while the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.78 μM, with the linear (R = 0.9997) range extending up to 100 μM. The intra-run and inter-run coefficients of variation of 2.49% and 2.04%, respectively, attest to high repeatability. Mean (±SD) recoveries of three different concentrations (low, medium, high) of GSH spiked into aliquots of HCT116 cells prior to cell extraction were 108.9% (±2.1), 100.8% (±8.3), and 99.9% (±7.1), respectively. Finally, using a 20 Da wide Q1 window in MRM mode, we were able to detect and relatively quantify all isotopic labeling states of GSH extracted from HCT116 cells fed with either ¹³C-labeled glucose or glutamine.