Structure Elucidation, Relative LC–MS Response and In Vitro Toxicity of Azaspiracids Isolated from Mussels (Mytilus edulis)

Abstract

Azaspiracids (AZAs) are marine biotoxins produced by dinoflagellates that can accumulate in shellfish, which if consumed can lead to poisoning events. AZA7–10, 7–10, were isolated from shellfish and their structures, previously proposed on the basis of only LC–MS/MS data, were confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. Purified AZA4–6, 4–6, and 7–10 were accurately quantitated by qNMR and used to assay cytotoxicity with Jurkat T lymphocyte cells for the first time. LC–MS(MS) molar response studies performed using isocratic and gradient elution in both selected ion monitoring and selected reaction monitoring modes showed that responses for the analogues ranged from 0.3 to 1.2 relative to AZA1, 1. All AZA analogues tested were cytotoxic to Jurkat T lymphocyte cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner; however, there were distinct differences in their EC50 values, with the potencies for each analogue being: AZA6 > AZA8 > AZA1 > AZA4 ≈ AZA9 > AZA5 ≈ AZA10. This data contributes to the understanding of the structure–activity relationships of AZAs.