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Group: Centre for Cardiovascular Science/Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility MS Core, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK

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Key members: Ruth Andrew, Shazia Khan, Natalie ZM Homer

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Contact: Ruth.Andrew@ed.ac.uk

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Research activities: Our main focus is analysis of steroid hormones by MS in the setting of metabolic disease. We develop novel approaches to separate and detect endogenous steroids, through advanced chromatographic approaches and derivatisation. We employ stable-isotopes tracers to measure flux of steroids through key enzymatic pathways, that are the focus of drug development and in so doing assess tissue exposure to glucocorticoids and androgens e.g. investigating of glucocorticoid over-exposure occurs in individuals susceptible the developing diabetes. Most recently we have started exploring the use of MS imaging to map steroid metabolism to cell clusters and tissue functional zones and are currently devising novel derivatisation approaches, combining the strengths of molecular modelling with high mass resolution and ion mobility instrumentation. Over and above these activities our lab supports many biomedical scientists with MS requirements, by developing ad hoc novel assays e.g. to support drug development, toxicology and many others.

 

Key papers related to ENOR:

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  1. Distinguishing the activities of. b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases in vivo using isotopically labelled cortisol Andrew R, Smith K, Jones GC, Walker BR (2002) J Clin Endo Metab 2002 87: 277.

  2. 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 contributes to the balance between 7-keto- and 7-hydroxy-oxysterols . Mitić T, Shave S, Semjones N, McNae I, Cobice DF, Lavery GG, Webster SP, Hadoke PWF,. Walker BR, Andrew R Biochemical Pharmacology 2013 86: 146.

  3. Cobice D, MacKay C, Goodwin R, McBride A, Langridge-Smith P, Webster S, Walker B, Andrew R Anal Chem 2013 85: 11576.

  4. Derivatization of estrogens enhances specificity and sensitivity of analysis of human plasma and serum by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry Faqehi AMM, Cobice DF, Naredo G, Gibb FW, Upreti R, Beckett GG, Walker BR, Homer NZM, Andrew R Talanta 2016 151:148.

  5. Spatial distribution Cobice DF, Livingstone DEW, Mackay CL, Goodwin R, Smith L, Walker BR, Andrew R Anal Chem 2016 88:10362.

  6. Quantification of 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 kinetics and pharmacodynamic effects of inhibitors in brain using MS Imaging and stable-isotope tracers in mice. Cobice DF, Livingstone DE, McBride A, MacKay CL, Walker BR, Webster SP, Andrew R Biochem Pharm 2017 In Press.

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