Simultaneous Quantification of Steroid Hormones Using hrLC-MS in Endocrine Tissues of Male Rats and Human Samples

Steroid hormones play a vital role in the regulation of cellular processes, and dysregulation of these metabolites can provoke or aggravate pathological issues, such as autoimmune diseases and cancer. Regulation of steroid hormones involves different organs and biological compartments. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine their levels in tissues and biofluids to monitor changes after challenge or during disease. In this work, we have developed and optimized the extraction and quantification of 11 key members of the different steroid classes, including androgens, estrogens, progestogens and corticoids. The assay consists of a liquid/liquid extraction step and subsequent quantification by high-resolution liquid chromatography coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The recoveries range between 74.2 to 126.9% and 54.9 to 110.7%, using a cell culture or urine as matrix, respectively. In general, the signal intensity loss due to matrix effect is no more than 30%. The method has been tested in relevant steroidogenic tissues in rat models and it has also been tested in human urine samples. Overall, this assay measures 11 analytes simultaneously in 6 min runtime and it has been applied in adrenal gland, testis, prostate, brain and serum from rats, and urine and extracellular vesicles from humans.

Automated summary

This study developed a method for the extraction and quantification of different classes of steroid hormones using high-resolution liquid chromatography coupled time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The method was tested and applied in rat and human samples, measuring 11 analytes in various tissues and biofluids.