Collection of human whole blood for genomic DNA extraction is part of numerous clinical studies. Since DNA extraction cannot always be performed at the time of sample collection, whole blood samples may be stored for years before being processed. The use of appropriate storage conditions is then critical to obtain DNA in sufficient quantity and of adequate quality in order to obtain reliable results from the subsequent molecular biological analyses. In this study, EDTA whole blood samples were collected from 8 healthy volunteers, and different durations (up to 1 year) and temperatures (room temperature, 4°C, -20°C, and -80°C) of storage were compared. The effect of the addition of a DNA preservative agent was also assessed before and after storage. DNA concentrations measured by UV spectrophotometry and spectrofluorometry were used to calculate DNA extraction yields and double-strand DNA ratios. DNA integrity was controlled by agarose gel electrophoresis and long-range polymerase chain reaction. The impact of storage conditions on DNA methylation was also evaluated. Results showed that certain storage conditions have a significant impact on the DNA extraction yield but little or no effect on DNA integrity and methylation. Storage of EDTA blood at -80°C guarantees high-quality DNA with a good yield. Higher DNA extraction yields were obtained with the addition of a DNA preservative agent before thawing EDTA blood stored at -20°C or -80°C. Long-term storage at room temperature in the presence of a DNA preservative agent also appeared to be a reliable procedure.

IntroductionMetabolome analysis is complicated by the continuous dynamic changes of metabolites in vivo and ex vivo. One of the main challenges in metabolomics is the robustness and reproducibility of results, partially driven by pre-analytical variations.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to analyse the impact of pre-centrifugation time and temperature, and to determine a quality control marker in plasma samples.MethodsPlasma metabolites were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and analysed with the MetaboliteDetector software. The metabolites, which were the most labile to pre-analytical variations, were further measured by enzymatic assays. A score was calculated for their use as quality control markers.ResultsThe pre-centrifugation temperature was shown to be critical in the stability of plasma samples and had a significant impact on metabolite concentration profiles. In contrast, pre-centrifugation delay had only a minor impact. Based on the results of this study, whole blood should be kept on wet ice and centrifuged within maximum 3 h as a prerequisite for preparing EDTA plasma samples fit for the purpose of metabolome analysis.ConclusionsWe have established a novel blood sample quality control marker, the LacaScore, based on the ascorbic acid to lactic acid ratio in plasma, which can be used as an indicator of the blood pre-centrifugation conditions, and hence the suitability of the sample for metabolome analyses. This method can be applied in research institutes and biobanks, enabling assessment of the quality of their plasma sample collections.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11306-016-1038-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This technical report presents quality control (QC) assays that can be performed in order to qualify clinical biospecimens that have been biobanked for use in research. Some QC assays are specific to a disease area. Some QC assays are specific to a particular downstream analytical platform. When such a qualification is not possible, QC assays are presented that can be performed to stratify clinical biospecimens according to their biomolecular quality.

The P-HDL lipidome and proteome showed significant differences from T-HDL. Enrichment in anti-coagulation proteins indicates complementary functionalities within P-HDL particles and underlines their anti-atherosclerotic potential.

These robust and accurate tools, based on simple and commercially available ELISA assays can greatly facilitate qualification of serum and plasma legacy collections with undocumented pre-analytics.