A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed and applied to profile metabolite changes in human Huh-7 cells exposed to the potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Comparisons of sensitivity (limit of detection as low as 0.01 µM) and reproducibility (84% of compounds had an interday relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10.0%; 83% of compounds had an intraday RSD less than 15.0%) were assessed for all the metabolites. The exposure of Huh-7 cells to the hepatotoxic carcinogen TCDD at low doses (1 nM and 10 nM for 4 h and 24 h, respectively) was reflected by the disturbance of amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism (glycolysis, TCA cycle), and nucleic acid metabolism. TCDD caused a significant decrease in amino acids such as serine, alanine, and proline while promoting an increase in arginine levels with 24 h treatment. Energy metabolism intermediates such as phosphoenolpyruvate and acetyl-CoA and nucleosides such as UMP, XMP, and CMP were also markedly decreased. These results support the application of HILIC-UHPLC-MS/MS for robust and reliable analysis of the cellular response to environmentally relevant toxicants at lower doses.
Keywords: HILIC–UHPLC–MS/MS; TCDD; polar metabolites; targeted metabolomics.