Identification of GalNAc-Conjugated Antisense Oligonucleotide Metabolites Using an Untargeted and Generic Approach Based on High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Antisense oligonucleotides linked by phosphorothioates are an important class of therapeutics under investigation in various pharmaceutical companies. Antisense oligonucleotides may be coupled to high-affinity ligands (triantennary N-acetyl galactosamine = GalNAc) for hepatocyte-specific asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGPR) to enhance uptake to hepatocytes and to increase potency. Since disposition and biotransformation of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotides is different from unconjugated oligonucleotides, appropriate analytical methods are required to identify main cleavage sites and degradation products of GalNAc conjugated and unconjugated oligonucleotides in target cells. A highly sensitive method was developed to identify metabolites of oligonucleotides using capillary flow liquid chromatography with column switching coupled to a high resolution Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer. Detection of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotides and their metabolites was achieved by combining full scan MS with two parallel MS2 experiments, one data-dependent scan and an untargeted MS2 experiment (all ion fragmentation) applying high collision energy. In the all ion fragmentation scan, a diagnostic fragment originating from the phosphorothioate backbone (O2PS-: m/z 94.936) was formed efficiently upon collisional activation. Based on this fragment an accurate determination of metabolites of oligonucleotides was achieved, independent of their sequence or conjugation in an untargeted but highly selective manner. The method was effectively applied to investigate uptake and metabolism of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotides in incubations of primary rat hepatocytes; the elucidation of expected and unexpected degradation products was achieved in subnanomolar range.