Untargeted metabolomics approach using UHPLC-IMS-QTOF MS for surface body samples to identify low-volatility chemosignals related to maternal care in mice

The present study is focused on the determination of low-volatile chemosignals excreted or secreted by mouse pups in their early days of life involved in maternal care induction in mice adult females. Untargeted metabolomics was employed to differentiate between samples collected with swabs from facial and anogenital area from neonatal mouse pups receiving maternal care (first two weeks of life) and the elder mouse pups in the weaning period (4th week old). The sample extracts were analysed by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to ion mobility separation (IMS) in combination with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). After data processing with Progenesis QI and multivariate statistical analysis, five markers present in the first two weeks of mouse pups life and putatively involved in materno-filial chemical communication were tentatively identified: arginine, urocanic acid, erythro-sphingosine (d17:1), sphingosine (d18:1) and sphinganine. The four-dimensional data and the tools associated to the additional structural descriptor obtained by IMS separation were of great help in the compound identification. The results demonstrated the great potential of UHPLC-IMS-HRMS based untargeted metabolomics to identity putative pheromones in mammals.