Quantification of homocysteine thiolactone in human saliva and urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Homocysteine thiolactone (HTL) is a chemically reactive thioester that has been implicated in cardiovascular disease. So far, its presence has been documented in human and mouse plasma and urine. Here, using a new method, we show that HTL is present in human saliva. The assay involves chloroform-methanol extraction of HTL, lyophilization, and derivatization with N-trimethylsilyl-N-methyl trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) and trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS). The method is based on a gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and quantifies HTL in a linear range from 0.05 to 1 µmol L⁻¹ saliva and urine. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.05 µmol L⁻¹. With respect to saliva specimen, the accuracy was 98.7–112.6%, and 90.2–100.5%, while the precision was 7.1–13.5% and 12.5–15.0% for the intra- and inter-day variation, respectively. In relation to urine samples, the accuracy was 91.9–110.9% and 91.2–103.3%, while the precision varied from 2.2% to 14.5% and 7.4% to 14.3% for intra- and inter-day measurements, respectively. Using this method, we show that in apparently healthy individuals (n = 18), HTL levels in saliva are not positively correlated with urinary HTL levels. Undoubtedly, larger population should be investigated to get more meaningful results.