A routine method for cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol analysis in dried blood spot by GC-FID to diagnose the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

This work was aimed to implement a fast and simple method to quantify cholesterol (CHOL) and 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) in dried blood spot (DBS) to diagnose the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), an inborn error of CHOL biosynthesis. We developed and validated a GC-FID method for separation and quantification of underivatized CHOL and 7-DHC using a DBS disc of 6mm with a run time of 9 min. Correlation coefficients (r) of calibration curves ranged from 0.998 to 0.999 for CHOL and from 0.997 to 0.998 for 7-DHC. Within-day and between-day imprecision (CV%), accuracy (%), carry-over, and extraction efficacy (%) were also evaluated for validation. CHOL and 7-DHC were analyzed in DBS and plasma samples from 8 SLOS patients and 30 unaffected subjects. In SLOS patients, 7-DHC/CHOL ratios in DBS and plasma samples ranged from 0.035 to 1.448 and from 0.012 to 0.926, respectively. Results from calibration curves, quality controls and patient samples reveal that the method is suitable to analyze DBS to screen patients affected by SLOS.

Sterol profiles in plasma and erythrocyte membranes in patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome: a six-year experience.

BACKGROUND: This study reports our experience over the last six years in the diagnosis of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome and other inborn errors of cholesterol biosynthesis. METHODS: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to obtain sterol profiles in plasma and erythrocyte membranes of suspected patients. RESULTS: Plasma sterol reference values calculated in unaffected subjects (n=276) were in agreement with those previously reported. Among patients investigated from 2005 to 2010, we report 16 patients affected by Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, three of whom represent new cases and 13 of whom were follow-up patients. In this period we also identified a new case of chondrodysplasia punctata 2 X-linked. The estimated incidence obtained for Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome was 1:93 suspected patients (1.08%). We also studied the effect of storage on the dehydrocholesterols/cholesterol ratio in plasma and erythrocyte membranes of patients affected by Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome stored at -20°C for up to 22 and 20 months, respectively. A significant negative linear correlation between storage time and the dehydrocholesterols/cholesterol ratio was identified in both plasma and erythrocyte membranes. The decrease in the dehydrocholesterols/cholesterol ratio in erythrocyte membranes was at least two-fold higher than in plasma. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study may be helpful for diagnosis and interpretation of data in patients with findings suggestive of a cholesterol biosynthesis defect.