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Acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) thioesters are evolutionarily conserved, compartmentalized, and energetically activated substrates for biochemical reactions. The ubiquitous involvement of acyl-CoA thioesters in metabolism, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid degradation, and cholesterol metabolism highlights the broad applicability of applied measurements of acyl-CoA thioesters. However, quantitation of acyl-CoA levels provides only one dimension of metabolic information and a more complete description of metabolism requires the relative contribution of different precursors to individual substrates and pathways. Using two distinct stable isotope labeling approaches, acyl-CoA thioesters can be labeled with either a fixed [(13)C3(15)N1] label derived from pantothenate into the CoA moiety or via variable [(13)C] labeling into the acyl chain from metabolic precursors. Liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole/Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry using parallel reaction monitoring, but not single ion monitoring, allowed the simultaneous quantitation of acyl-CoA thioesters by stable isotope dilution using the [(13)C3(15)N1] label and measurement of the incorporation of labeled carbon atoms derived from [(13)C6]-glucose, [(13)C5(15)N2]-glutamine, and [(13)C3]-propionate. As a proof of principle, we applied this method to human B cell lymphoma (WSU-DLCL2) cells in culture to precisely describe the relative pool size and enrichment of isotopic tracers into acetyl-, succinyl-, and propionyl-CoA. This method will allow highly precise, multiplexed, and stable isotope-resolved determination of metabolism to refine metabolic models, characterize novel metabolism, and test modulators of metabolic pathways involving acyl-CoA thioesters.

Acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) thioesters are evolutionarily conserved, compartmentalized, and energetically activated substrates for biochemical reactions. The ubiquitous involvement of acyl-CoA thioesters in metabolism, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid degradation, and cholesterol metabolism highlights the broad applicability of applied measurements of acyl-CoA thioesters. However, quantitation of acyl-CoA levels provides only one dimension of metabolic information and a more complete description of metabolism requires the relative contribution of different precursors to individual substrates and pathways. Using two distinct stable isotope labeling approaches, acyl-CoA thioesters can be labeled with either a fixed [CN] label derived from pantothenate into the CoA moiety or via variable [C] labeling into the acyl chain from metabolic precursors. Liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole/Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry using parallel reaction monitoring, but not single ion monitoring, allowed the simultaneous quantitation of acyl-CoA thioesters by stable isotope dilution using the [CN] label and measurement of the incorporation of labeled carbon atoms derived from [C]-glucose, [CN]-glutamine, and [C]-propionate. As a proof of principle, we applied this method to human B cell lymphoma (WSU-DLCL2) cells in culture to precisely describe the relative pool size and enrichment of isotopic tracers into acetyl-, succinyl-, and propionyl-CoA. This method will allow highly precise, multiplexed, and stable isotope-resolved determination of metabolism to refine metabolic models, characterize novel metabolism, and test modulators of metabolic pathways involving acyl-CoA thioesters. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) thioesters are key metabolites in numerous anabolic and catabolic pathways, including fatty acid biosynthesis and β-oxidation, the Krebs cycle, and cholesterol and isoprenoid biosynthesis. Stable isotope dilution-based methodology is the “gold standard” for quantitative analyses by mass spectrometry. However, chemical synthesis of families of stable isotope-labeled metabolites such as acyl-CoA thioesters is impractical. Previously, we biosynthetically generated a library of stable isotope internal standard analogs of acyl-CoA thioesters by exploiting the essential requirement in mammals and insects for pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) as a metabolic precursor for the CoA backbone. By replacing pantothenic acid in the cell medium with commercially available [ 13 C 3 15 N 1 ]-pantothenic acid, mammalian cells exclusively incorporated [ 13 C 3 15 N 1 ]-pantothenate into the biosynthesis of acyl-CoA and acyl-CoA thioesters. We have now developed a much more efficient method for generating stable isotope-labeled CoA and acyl-CoAs from [ 13 C 3 15 N 1 ]-pantothenate using stable isotope labeling by essential nutrients in cell culture (SILEC) in Pan6-deficient yeast cells. Efficiency and consistency of labeling were also increased, likely due to the stringently defined and reproducible conditions used for yeast culture. The yeast SILEC method greatly enhances the ease of use and accessibility of labeled CoA thioesters and also provides proof of concept for generating other labeled metabolites in yeast mutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]