TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term stability of amino acids and acylcarnitines in dried blood spots
AU - Strnadová, Kristina Anna
AU - Holub, Margareta
AU - Mühl, Adolf
AU - Heinze, Georg
AU - Ratschmann, Rene
AU - Mascher, Hermann
AU - Stöckler-Ipsiroglu, Sylvia
AU - Waldhauser, Franz
AU - Votava, Felix
AU - Lebl, Jan
AU - Bodamer, Olaf A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2007/4
Y1 - 2007/4
N2 - Background: Dried blood filter cards, collected for newborn screening, are often stored for long periods of time. They may be suitable for the retrospective diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism, but no data are currently available on the long-term stability of amino acids and acylcarnitine species. Methods: We analyzed amino acids and acylcarnitines by tandem mass spectrometry in 660 anonymous, randomly selected filter cards from 1989 through 2004. We assessed long-term stability of metabolites by linear regression and estimated annual decrease of concentration for each metabolite. Results: Concentrations of free carnitine increased by 7.6% per year during the first 5 years of storage and decreased by 1.4% per year thereafter. Alanine, arginine, leucine, methionine, and phenylalanine decreased by 6.5%, 3.3%, 3.1%, 7.3%, and 5.7% per year, respectively. Acetylcarnitine, propionylcarnitine, citrulline, glycine, and ornithine decreased by 18.5%, 27.4%, 8.1%, 14.7%, and 16.3% per year during the first 5 years, respectively; thereafter the decline was more gradual. Tyrosine decreased by 1.7% per year during the first 5 years and 7.9% per year thereafter. We could not analyze medium-and long-chain acylcarnitine species because of low physiological concentrations. Conclusions: Estimation of the annual decrease of metabolites may allow for the retrospective diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism in filter cards that have been stored for long periods of time.
AB - Background: Dried blood filter cards, collected for newborn screening, are often stored for long periods of time. They may be suitable for the retrospective diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism, but no data are currently available on the long-term stability of amino acids and acylcarnitine species. Methods: We analyzed amino acids and acylcarnitines by tandem mass spectrometry in 660 anonymous, randomly selected filter cards from 1989 through 2004. We assessed long-term stability of metabolites by linear regression and estimated annual decrease of concentration for each metabolite. Results: Concentrations of free carnitine increased by 7.6% per year during the first 5 years of storage and decreased by 1.4% per year thereafter. Alanine, arginine, leucine, methionine, and phenylalanine decreased by 6.5%, 3.3%, 3.1%, 7.3%, and 5.7% per year, respectively. Acetylcarnitine, propionylcarnitine, citrulline, glycine, and ornithine decreased by 18.5%, 27.4%, 8.1%, 14.7%, and 16.3% per year during the first 5 years, respectively; thereafter the decline was more gradual. Tyrosine decreased by 1.7% per year during the first 5 years and 7.9% per year thereafter. We could not analyze medium-and long-chain acylcarnitine species because of low physiological concentrations. Conclusions: Estimation of the annual decrease of metabolites may allow for the retrospective diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism in filter cards that have been stored for long periods of time.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147223503&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34147223503&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1373/clinchem.2006.076679
DO - 10.1373/clinchem.2006.076679
M3 - Article
C2 - 17272485
AN - SCOPUS:34147223503
VL - 53
SP - 717
EP - 722
JO - Clinical Chemistry
JF - Clinical Chemistry
SN - 0009-9147
IS - 4
ER -