Journal of Lipid Research, Vol 32, 1371-1380, Copyright © 1991 by Lipid Research, Inc.
Inhibitors of sterol synthesis. Characterization of trimethylsilyl dienol ethers of 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-cholest-8(14)-en-15-one. Applications in the analysis of mitochondrial metabolites of the 15- ketosterol by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
J St. Pyrek, WK Wilson, S Numazawa and GJ Schoepfer Jr
Department of Biochemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892.
Derivatization of delta 8(14)-15-ketosterols as bis-TMS dienol ethers
facilitates their analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-
MS). Conditions are presented for the preparation of each of the three
possible bis-TMS dienol ethers of 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-cholest-8(14)-
en-15-one (1), a potent regulator of cholesterol metabolism. Treatment of 1
with N,O-bis(tri-methylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) and pyridine for
20 h at 100 degrees C produced primarily 3 beta,15-
bis(trimethylsilyloxy)-5 alpha-cholesta-7,14-diene. Treatment of 1 with
BSTFA-pyridine in the presence of 0.1% perchloric acid for 20 h at 22
degrees C gave mainly the delta 8(14)15, dienol ether. Heating this
reaction mixture at 100 degrees C for 4 days gave mainly the delta 8,14
ether. The structures of the three dienol ethers were established by GC- MS
and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The three TMS
dienol ethers of 1 were resolved by capillary GC and gave very simple mass
spectra upon electron impact with fragmentation limited almost exclusively
to the elimination of trimethylsilanol, methyl, and the side chain. The TMS
dienol ethers showed reduced artefact formation, improved chromatographic
resolution, and increased sensitivity relative to the delta
8(14)-15-ketosterols, properties that improve the detection and
identification of minor components in analyses of complex biological
mixtures. The utility of this derivatization is illustrated for the delta
7,14 TMS dienol ethers of the 3-deoxy, 3-keto, 3 alpha-hydroxy, and 3
beta-methoxy analogs of 1 and for delta 8(14)-15-ketosterols in mixtures
obtained from incubations of 1 with rat liver mitochondria in the presence
of NADPH.