Detection and measurement of carbohydrate deficient transferrin in serum using immuno-capture mass spectrometry: diagnostic applications for annual ryegrass toxicity and corynetoxin exposure.

The neurological livestock disease annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT) is caused by the ingestion of the naturally occurring glycolipid toxins - the corynetoxins. Corynetoxins also threaten human health as potential contaminants of the food supply. Presently, there are no routine diagnostic tests for corynetoxins-exposure in humans or livestock. Chronic ingestion of corynetoxins has been modeled in rats exposed to dietary tunicamycins for 12 months and carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) has been previously identified as a candidate disease biomarker. Here, the technique of immuno-capture mass spectrometry (icMS) was used to evaluate serum levels of CDT, discriminating between control and tunicamycins-exposed rats with 85% accuracy. The icMS approach is based on the combination of specific transferrin enrichment with functionalized magnetic beads and automated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). With no other clinically-relevant diagnostic tests available icMS could be readily adapted for high-throughput clinical assessment of corynetoxins-exposure in humans or livestock.