A targeted proteomics approach for the investigation of drug-induced liver injury in hepatic organoids using nano liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Abstract

Late-stage drug attrition and post-market withdrawals attributed to drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has been a prevailing concern for the pharmaceutical industry. The current gaps in preclinical safety assessment impede the termination of DILI drug candidates to earlier stages of drug development, with the consequence of possibly exposing patients to hepatotoxic agents. Recent advances in liver-emulating models, with the development of hepatic organoids, seem promising in filling these gaps. The purpose of this study was to look into opportunities for the advancement of the preclinical safety assessment of the hepatic system. This was approached by combining the liver-emulating power of hepatic organoids with the well-studied protein biomarker alanine aminotransferase isoform 1 (ALT1) to investigate their compatibility with nano liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS). A targeted proteomics approach for the absolute quantification of ALT1 was developed by a thorough assessment of signature peptide candidates and corresponding multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions. NanoLC-MS platform optimization was performed to maximize detection sensitivity and reliability. From empirical nanoLC-MS platform optimization, the greatest improvement was achieved from collision energy optimization, with an increase of mean peptide peak area of 22%. ALT1 peptide assessment showed that the peptide LLVAGEGHTR with the MRM fragments y8+ and y7+ were best suited to infer the presence of ALT1 in absolute quantification. The finalized method was applied for the investigation of drug-induced liver injury in hepatic organoids, where acetaminophen was used as the model drug. This work has shown that ALT1 quantification with a nanoLC-MS platform is feasible and has great potential to support preclinical DILI detection. Further studies must be conducted to give reliable statements on the applicability of the method for drug-induced ALT1 release in hepatic organoids.