Interrogation of MS/MS search data with an pI Filter algorithm to increase protein identification success

In high-throughput proteomics, the bottom-up approach has become a widely used method for the identification of proteins that is based on tryptic peptide MS/MS analysis. Separation methodologies that use IEF of tryptic peptides have recently been introduced and provide an extra dimension of peptide separation. In addition to its great fractionation capability, tryptic peptide prefractionation by IEF can also increase the protein identification success. The pI information of the peptide gained can be successfully used in a post-database search filtering step. We introduce a filtering algorithm that is based on the comparison of the experimental and theoretical pI's to validate peptide identifications by MS/MS data search engines.     

纳升电喷雾毛细管液相色谱-串联质谱鉴定K562细胞株中混合蛋白质

用标准蛋白质混合物建立了一种适用于低丰度混合蛋白质及其异构体分离与鉴定的蛋白质组学方法。通过IPG胶条等电聚焦分离蛋白质,染色后进行混合胶内酶切,采用纳升电喷雾毛细管液相色谱一串联质谱“散弹法（shot-gun）”分析酶切产物,并进行数据库检索鉴定蛋白质。运用该方法从K562细胞株样品中鉴定出14种具有重要功能的蛋白质,部分蛋白质同时在多个条带中出现,可能是异构体。肽段及其碎片离子的平均质量偏差小于0．05U,综合得分大都远远超过有效值。该方法灵敏、准确度高、分辨率高、省时、便于操椎存苍宗罾白甩异构体青而右优势．     

A shotgun approach for the identification of platinum–protein complexes

A shotgun approach including peptide-based OFFGEL-isoelectric focusing (IEF) fractionation has been developed with the aim of improving the identification of platinum-binding proteins in biological samples. The method is based on a filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) tryptic digestion under denaturing and reducing conditions of cisplatin–, oxaliplatin–, and carboplatin–protein complexes, followed by OFFGEL-IEF separation of the peptides. Any risk of platinum loss is minimized throughout the procedure due to the removal of the reagents used after each stage of the FASP method and the absence of thiol-based reagents in the focusing buffer employed in the IEF separation. The platinum–peptide complexes stability after the FASP digestion and the IEF separation was confirmed by size exclusion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SEC-ICP-MS). The suitability of peptide-based OFFGEL-IEF fractionation for reducing the sample complexity for further nano-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis has been demonstrated, allowing the detection of platinum-containing peptides, with significantly lower abundance and ionization efficiency than unmodified peptides. nLC-MS/MS analysis of selected OFFGEL-IEF fractions from tryptic digests with different complexity degrees: standard human serum albumin (HSA), a mixture of five proteins (albumin, transferrin, carbonic anhydrase, myoglobin, and cytochrome-c) and human blood serum allowed the identification of several platinum–peptides from cisplatin–HSA. Cisplatin-binding sites in HSA were elucidated from the MS/MS spectra and assessed considering the protein three-dimensional structure. Most of the potential superficial binding sites available on HSA were identified for all the samples, including a biologically relevant cisplatin-cross-link of two protein domains, demonstrating the capabilities of the methodology.

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Graphical Abstract Graphical abstract shows the several steps involved in the identification of platinum-protein complexes: FASP digestion of proteins, peptide fractionation by OFFGEL-IEF and identification of Pt-complexes by nLC-ESIMS/MS

     

Comprehensive proteome analysis of mouse liver by ampholyte-free liquid-phase isoelectric focusing

In this study, ampholyte-free liquid-phase IEF (LIEF) was combined with narrow pH range 2-DE and SDS-PAGE RP-HPLC for comprehensive analysis of mouse liver proteome. Because LIEF prefractionation was able to reduce the complexity of the sample and enhance the loading capacity of IEF strips, the number of visible protein spots on subsequent 2-DE gels was significantly increased. A total of 6271 protein spots were detected after integrating five narrow pH range 2-DE gels following LIEF prefractionation into a single virtual 2-DE gel. Furthermore, the pH 3-5 LIEF fraction and the unfractionated sample were separated by pH 3-6 2-DE and identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, respectively. In parallel, the pH 3-5 LIEF fraction was also analyzed by SDS-PAGE RP-HPLC MS/MS. LIEF-2-DE and LIEF-HPLC could obviously improve the separation efficiency and the confidence of protein identification, which identified a higher number of low-abundance proteins and proteins with extreme physicochemical characteristics or post-translational modifications compared to conventional 2-DE method. Furthermore, there were 207 proteins newly identified in mouse liver in comparison with previously reported large-scale datasets. It was observed that the combination of LIEF-2-DE and LIEF-HPLC was effective in promoting MS-based liver proteome profiling and could be applied on similar complex tissue samples.     

Separation with zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography improves protein identification by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐based proteomic analysis

Comprehensive proteomic analyses necessitate efficient separation of peptide mixtures for the subsequent identification of proteins by mass spectrometry (MS). However, digestion of proteins extracted from cells and tissues often yields complex peptide mixtures that confound direct comprehensive MS analysis. This study investigated a zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC‐HILIC) technique for the peptide separation step, which was verified by subsequent MS analysis. Human serum albumin (HSA) was the model protein used for this analysis. HSA was digested with trypsin and resolved by ZIC‐HILIC or conventional strong cation exchange (SCX) prior to MS analysis for peptide identification. Separation with ZIC‐HILIC significantly improved the identification of HSA peptides over SCX chromatography. Detailed analyses of the identified peptides revealed that the ZIC‐HILIC has better peptide fractionation ability. We further demonstrated that ZIC‐HILIC is useful for quantitatively surveying cell surface markers specifically expressed in undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. These results suggested the value of ZIC‐HILIC as a novel and efficient separation method for comprehensive and quantitative proteomic analyses. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A miniaturized multichamber solution isoelectric focusing device for separation of protein digests

A miniaturized multichamber device was constructed for solution isoelectric focusing (IEF) separation of complex peptide mixtures. The system, based on immobilized pH gels, consisted of 96 minichambers ( approximately 75 nuL each) arranged in eight rows. Neighboring chambers in a given row were separated by short glass tubes (4 mm inner diameter, 3 mm long), within which Immobiline gels of specific pH values were polymerized. During focusing, the device was sandwiched between two supporting blocks incorporating the reservoirs for anolyte and catholyte. In principle, multiple samples could be simultaneously fractionated, each separated into 12 fractions of various pI ranges. A variety of standard peptide mixtures and tryptic digests of proteins were separated by IEF using this device, and the fractions were characterized by mass spectrometry. For a codigested nine-protein mixture, both the total number of peptides identified and the average sequence coverage were similar to the results of ion-exchange chromatography (IEC), according to matrix assisted laser/desorption/ionization--time of flight (MALDI-TOF) data. The IEF separation provided concentrated and desalted fractions, suitable for an additional separation liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis (LC, CE) or mass spectrometry (MS) detection without additional sample cleanup. High loading capacity was achieved for the miniaturized multichamber IEF device. Importantly, a linear correlation was found between the experimentally determined and calculated pI values of peptides.     

Novel staining-free proteomic method for simultaneous identification of proteins and determination of their pI values by using low-molecular-mass pI markers

A new proteomic staining-free method for simultaneous identification of proteins and determination of their pI values by using low-molecular-mass pI markers is described. It is based on separation of proteins in gels by IEF in combination with mass spectrometric analysis of both peptides derived by in-gel digestion and low-molecular-mass pI markers extracted form the same piece excised from the gel. In this method, the pI markers are mixed with a protein mixture (a commercial malted barley protein extract) deposited on a gel and separated in a pH gradient. Color pI markers enable supervision of progress of focusing process. Several separated bands of the pI markers (including separated proteins) were excised and the pI markers were eluted from each gel piece by water/ethanol and identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. The remaining carrier ampholytes were then washed out from gel pieces and proteins were in-gel digested with trypsin or chymotrypsin. Obtained peptides were measured by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS and proteins were identified via protein database search. This procedure allows omitting time-consuming protein staining and destaining procedures, which shortens the analysis time. For comparison, other IEF gels were stained with CBB R 250 and proteins in the gel bands were identified. Similarity of the results confirmed that our approach can give information about the correct pI values of particular proteins in complex samples at significantly shorter analysis times. This method can be very useful for identification of proteins and their post-translational modifications in prefractioned samples, where post-translational modifications (e.g., glycation) are frequent.     

An integrated serum proteomic approach capable of monitoring the low molecular weight proteome with sequencing of intermediate to large peptides

The low‐abundance, low molecular weight serum proteome has high potential for the discovery of new biomarkers using mass spectrometry (MS). Because the serum proteome is large and complex, defining relative quantitative differences for a molecular species between comparison groups requires an approach with robust separation capability, high sensitivity, as well as high mass resolution. Capillary liquid chromatography (cLC)/MS provides both the necessary separation technique and the sensitivity to observe many low‐abundance peptides. Subsequent identification of potential serum peptide biomarkers observed in the cLC/MS step can in principle be accomplished by in series cLC/MS/MS without further sample preparation or additional instrumentation. In this report a novel cLC/MS/MS method for peptide sequencing is described that surpasses previously reported size limits for amino acid sequencing accomplished by collisional fragmentation using a tandem time‐of‐flight MS instrument. As a demonstration of the approach, two low‐abundance peptides with masses of ～4000–5000 Da were selected for MS/MS sequencing. The multi‐channel analyzer (MCA) was used in a novel way that allowed for summation of 120 fragmentation spectra for each of several customized collision energies, providing more thorough fragmentation coverage of each peptide with improved signal to noise. The peak list from this composite analysis was submitted to Mascot for identification. The two index peptides, 4279 Da and 5061 Da, were successfully identified. The peptides were a 39 amino acid immunoglobulin G heavy chain variable region fragment and a 47 amino acid fibrin alpha isoform C‐terminal fragment. The method described here provides the ability both to survey thousands of serum molecules and to couple that with markedly enhanced cLC/MS/MS peptide sequencing capabilities, providing a promising technique for serum biomarker discovery. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Divergent-flow isoelectric focusing for separation and preparative analysis of peptides

A divergent-flow isoelectric focusing (DF IEF) technique has been applied for the separation and preparative analysis of peptides. The parameters of the developed DF IEF device such as dimension and shape of the separation bed, selection of nonwoven material of the channel, and separation conditions were optimized. The DF IEF device was tested by the separation of a peptide mixture originating from the tryptic digestion of BSA, cytochrome c, and myoglobin. The pH gradient of DF IEF was created by the autofocusing of tryptic peptides themselves without any addition of carrier ampholytes. The focusing process was monitored visually using colored pI markers, and the obtained fractions were analyzed by RP-HPLC and ESI/TOF-MS. DF IEF operating in the autofocusing mode provides an efficient preseparation of peptides, which is comparable with a commercially available MicroRotofor multicompartment electrolyzer and significantly improves sequence coverage of analyzed proteins. The potential of the DF IEF device as an efficient tool for the preparative scale separations was demonstrated by the isolation of caseinomacropeptide (CMP) from a crude whey solution.     

A method for rapidly confirming protein N-terminal sequences by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

The N-terminal sequence is important for the identification of a protein and the confirmation of its N-terminal processing. Although mass spectrometry (MS) is a sensitive and high-throughput method to sequence and identify peptides and proteins, N-terminal peptides, diluted among most of the peptides that do not originate at the N-termini, are not easy to identify directly with MS. To develop a simple and rapid method to identify and sequence the N-terminal peptide of a protein, a new strategy based on specific sulfonation of terminal amino groups and selective monitoring of the sulfonated peptide was introduced. After a protein had been guanidinated, 2-sulfobenzoylated, and reduced, it was digested with trypsin and analyzed by MS. Because of the strong acidity of sulfonic groups and the specific sulfonation of alpha-amino groups, the sulfonated N-terminal peptide dominated as base peak in the negative mode peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) and was easy to identify. The N-terminal peptide was then selected as precursor ion for tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) analysis. Four proteins were tested with this method and their N-terminal peptides were successfully recognized and sequenced. The results suggest that the addition of a sulfonic acid group facilitates the identification and de novo sequencing of N-terminal peptides.     

Identification and quantification of protein carbonylation using light and heavy isotope labeled Girard's P reagent

Protein carbonyls are one of the most widely studied markers of oxidative stress. Determining increases in the concentration of protein carbonyls known to be associated with neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, cancer and ageing. Identification of carbonylation sites in oxidized proteins has been a challenge. Even though recent advances in proteomics has facilitate the identification of carbonylation sites in oxidized proteins, confident identification remains a challenge due to the complicated nature of oxidative damage and the wide range of oxidative modifications. Here, we report the development of a multiplexing strategy that facilitates confident carbonylated peptide identification through a combination of heavy and light isotope coding and a multi-step filtering process. This procedure involves (1) labeling aliquots of oxidized proteins with heavy and light forms of Girard's reagent P (GPR) and combining them in a 1:1 ratio along with (2) LC/MS and MALDI-MS/MS analysis. The filtering process uses LC/MS and MALDI-MS/MS data to rule out false positives by rejecting peptide doublets that do not appear with the correct concentration ratio, retention time, tag number, or resolution. This strategy was used for the identification of heavily oxidized transferrin peptides and resulted in identification 13 distinct peptides. The competency of the method was validated in a complex mixture using oxidized transferrin in a yeast lysate as well as oxidized yeast. Twenty-five percent of the peptides identified in a pure oxidized sample of transferrin were successfully identified from the complex mixture. Analysis of yeast proteome stressed with hydrogen peroxide using this multiplexing strategy resulted in identification of 41 carbonylated peptides from 36 distinct proteins. Differential isotope coding of model peptides at different concentrations followed by mixing at different ratios was used to establish the linear dynamic range for quantification of carbonylated peptides using light and heavy forms of GPR.     

Proteome analysis using isoelectric focusing in immobilized pH gradient gels followed by mass spectrometry

Over the past several years, a large effort has been focused on improvements of two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis-based proteomics technology, and on development of novel approaches for proteome analysis. Here, we describe the application of an alternative strategy for the analysis of complex proteomes. The strategy combines isoelectric focusing in immobilized pH gradient strips (in-gel IEF), mass spectrometry (MS), and bioinformatics. A protein mixture is separated by in-gel IEF, and the entire strip is cut into a set of gel sections. Proteins in each gel section are digested with trypsin, and the tryptic peptides are subjected to liquid chromatography-nanoelectrospray-quadrupole ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The LC-ESI-MS/MS data are used to identify the proteins through searches of a protein sequence database. Using this in-gel IEF-LC-MS/MS strategy, we have identified 127 proteins from a human pituitary. This study demonstrates the potential of the in-gel IEF-LC-MS/MS approach for analyses of complex mammalian proteomes.     

Carrier ampholyte-free solution isoelectric focusing as a prefractionation method for the proteomic analysis of complex protein mixtures

The field of proteomics requires methods that offer high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. One of the strategies used to improve the dynamic range is sample prefractionation, such as microsolution isoelectric focusing (IEF). We have modified a commercial solution IEF instrument, the Rotofor, to prefractionate protein mixtures by carrier ampholyte-free solution IEF. The focusing chamber of the Rotofor was divided into several compartments by polyacrylamide membranes with imbedded Immobiline mixtures of specific pH values. When an electric field is applied, each protein migrates to the compartment confined by membranes with pH values flanking its isoelectric point. The approach was demonstrated for the focusing of myoglobin into a predicted compartment, as well as the separation of a complex soluble yeast protein mixture into several distinct fractions. The proteins were dissolved in water or 30% isopropanol. The method is applicable to both gel-based and solution-phase protein identification methods, without the need for further sample preparation.     

Protein identification from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis by connecting ZipTip with a home-assembled nanoflow system

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful technique for protein identification in proteomic research. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with MS is a significant method for protein separation and identification. For protein identification, peptide sequencing is usually carried out by an effective but expensive nano-flow liquid chromatographic system combined to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). However, protein identification based on such method is time-consuming, and contamination may occur as a result of column overloading. In this study, we establish an alternative nanoscale system for protein identification using MS/MS. The system consists of several devices that can be purchased from commercial sources and can be connected to an electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight (ESI-Q-TOF) MS in order to analyze proteins from 2D gels. This inexpensive strategy provides an attractive alternative method for rapid identification of proteins using a nanospray source. In addition, the device is disposable so that contamination is avoided. It is shown that peptide sequencing based on this device using ESI-Q-TOF MS is accomplished within 10 min.     

Two-dimensional LC-MS/MS in detection of peptides in hypothalamus of the rat subjected to hypoxic stress

A capillary 2-D LC method coupled with IT MS has been used for separation and identification of peptides in rat hypothalamus. Animals of two different age groups (8 and 50 wk) were exposed to two different rates of CO(2 )in inhaled air to investigate the influence of different hypoxia/hypercapnia levels and their stress-related factor on the peptide excretion. Peptide compounds were fractionated (strong cation exchange chromatography), trapped, and separated (RP chromatography), and MS/MS mass spectra were used for identification. About 107 peptide compounds were identified and 88 of them were semiquantified. Among the characterized peptides, there were fragments from proteins such as proenkephalin A, proSAAS, prosomatostatin, prooxytocin, vasopressin, etc. Explorative principal component analysis (PCA) combined with hypothesis testing was applied to the obtained data to investigate the impact of age and hypoxic stress factors on the peptide pattern. Twenty-six peptides revealed significant differences in concentrations between the animal groups influenced by age and influx rate.     

Separation, detection, and identification of peptides by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry at high and low pH

Bioactive peptides and tryptic digests of various proteins were separated under acidic and alkaline conditions by ion-pair-reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPIPC) in 200 microm I.D. monolithic, poly(styrene-divinylbenzene)-based capillary columns using gradients of acetonitrile in 0.050% aqueous trifluoroacetic acid, pH 2.1, or 1.0% triethylamine-acetic acid, pH 10.6. Chromatographic performances with mobile phases of low and high-pH were practically equivalent and facilitated the separation of more than 50 tryptic peptides of bovine serum albumin within 15-20 min with peak widths at half height between 4 and 10 s. Neither a significant change in retentivity nor efficiency of the monolithic column was observed during 17-day operation at pH 10.6 and 50 degrees C. Upon separation by RP-HPIPC at high-pH, peptide detectabilities in full-scan negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (negESI-MS) were about two to three times lower as compared to RP-HPIPC at low-pH with posESI-MS detection. Tandem mass spectra obtained by fragmentation of deprotonated peptide ions in negative ion mode yielded interpretable sequence information only in a few cases of relatively short peptides. However, in order to obtain sequence information for peptides separated with alkaline mobile phases, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) could be performed in positive ion mode. The chromatographic selectivities were significantly different in separations performed with acidic and alkaline eluents, which facilitated the fractionation of a complex peptide mixture obtained by the tryptic digestion of 10 proteins utilizing off-line, two-dimensional RP-HPIPC at high pH x RP-HPIPC at low pH and subsequent on-line identification by posESI-MS/MS.     

Peptide mapping with mobile phases of intermediate pH value using capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

This investigation describes the separation of tryptic peptides by capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with eluents in the intermediate pH range, followed by in-line electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) analysis. For these purposes, gradient elution procedures with an aqueous eluent containing 20 mM ammonium formate, and an increasing content of acetonitrile or methanol, were employed. Compared to the analysis of the same tryptic peptides under low-pH conditions with an ion-pairing reagent, the increase in the pH with the 20 mM ammonium formate mobile phase led to significant changes in both peptide retention to the reversed-phase column and the collision-induced dissociation at the MS/MS stage as a consequence of the changes in the physico-chemical properties of these peptides, such as their overall charge, polarity and relative hydrophobicity. Thus, improved selectivity for the peptide separation and favourable tandem mass spectrometry analysis could be obtained with eluents in this intermediate pH range. The number of tryptic peptides identified by the new approach for the proteins investigated were significantly higher than that obtained by the conventional low-pH methods. Moreover, analysis of protein digests at very low concentrations was also performed under both acidic and intermediate pH conditions and similar improvements in selectivity and MS/MS detection limits were observed, i.e. identification of more distinct peptides and higher sequence coverage of the protein was obtained when eluents of intermediate pH were employed. This study therefore highlights the potential of conducting peptide mapping in the intermediate pH range to achieve more reliable and sensitive protein identifications with capillary RP-HPLC–ESI-MS/MS.     

Large-scale muLC-MS/MS for silver- and Coomassie blue-stained polyacrylamide gels

2-DE combined with LC-MS/MS has become a routine, reliable protein separation and identification technology for proteome analysis. The demand for large-scale protein identifications after 2-DE separation requires a sensitive and high-throughput LC-MS/MS method. In this report, a simple, splitless, fully automated capillary LC-MS/MS system was described for the large-scale identification of proteins from gels stained with either silver or CBB. The gel samples were digested and peptides were extracted using an in-gel digestion workstation. The peptides were automatically introduced into a capillary column by an autosampler connected to an HPLC pump. A nanoLC pump was then used to deliver the gradient and elute the peptides from the capillary column directly into an LCQ IT mass spectrometer. Neither a peptide trapping setting nor a flow split is needed in this simple setup. The collected MS/MS spectra were then automatically searched by SEQUEST, and filtered and organized by DTASelect. Hundreds of silver-stained or CBB-stained Shewanella oneidensis, Geobacter sulfurreducens, and Geobacter metallireducens proteins separated by denaturing or nondenaturing 2-DE were digested and routinely analyzed using this fully automated muLC-MS/MS system. High peptide hits and sequence coverage were achieved for most CBB-stained gel spots. About 75% of the spots were found to contain multiple proteins. Although silver staining is not commonly thought to be optimal for MS analysis, protein identifications were successfully obtained from silver-stained 2-DE spots detected using methods with and without formaldehyde for protein fixation.     

Phosphopeptide enrichment by IEF

In our efforts to improve the identification of phosphopeptides by MS we have used peptide IEF on IPG strips. Phosphopeptides derived from trypsin digests of single proteins as well as complex cellular protein mixtures can be enriched by IEF and recovered in excellent yields at the acidic end of an IPG strip. IPG peptide fractionation in combination with MS/MS analysis has allowed us to identify phosphopeptides from tryptic digests of a cellular protein extract.     

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography-capillary zone electrophoresis-sheathless electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry: evaluation for peptide analysis and protein identification

A peptide separation strategy that combines two-dimensional (2-D) liquid chromatography (LC)-capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is described for the identification of proteins in complex mixtures. To test the effectiveness of this strategy, a serum sample was depleted of the high-abundance proteins by methanol precipitation, digested with trypsin to generate a complex peptide mixture, and separated into 96 fractions by reversed-phase (RP)-LC. Compared to ion-exchange LC separations, RPLC provides much higher resolution and peak capacity. Fractions were collected off-line from the RPLC separation, and subjected to short 20 min CZE separations. The separated zones were introduced to the mass spectrometer through a sheathless electrospray ionization interface that is integrated on the separation capillary. The ease of fabrication of the interface and its durability allowed for the analysis of all fractions on a single capillary in a relatively short analysis time. A stable electrospray was produced at nanoliter flowrates by augmenting analyte electrophoretic and electroosmotic mobilities with pressure-assisted flow. Unlike first-dimensional ion-exchange LC fractionation, where there is a large degree of overlap, the CZE-MS results show less than 15% overlap between neighboring RPLC fractions.