白眉蝮蛇蛇毒及蛇毒酶的激光解吸飞行时间质谱研究

Perkins等[1]用MALDI/TOF/MS对不同种类蛇毒中神经毒素进行了分析,彭嘉柔等[2,3]对江浙蝮蛇和蛇毒粗组份进行了初步质谱表征.但蛇毒蛋白纯化困难,因此对单一组份的研究较少且不系统.本文以白眉蝮蛇蛇毒(AgkistrodonblomhoffiiUssurensis,ABUV)为原料,纯化得到了精氨酸酯酶(Arginineesterase,AEase)、磷脂酶A2(PhospholipaseA2,PLA2)、纤溶酶(fibrinolyticenzyme)和L-氨基酸氧化酶(L-aminoacidoxidase),并且用MALDI/TOF/MS法对它们和蛇毒粗毒进行了系统研究.1　实验部分1.1　仪器和药品　激光解吸质谱仪为美国Molecular公司L…     

Size exclusion chromatography/mass spectrometry applied to the analysis of polysaccharides.

A novel method for analysing polysaccharide materials is described which employs size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) followed by detection by on-line electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and off-line matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). It is demonstrated through SEC/ESI ion trap mass spectrometry that the formation of multiply charged oligomer ions, which bind up to five sodium cations, allows the rapid analysis of polysaccharide ions with molecular weights in excess of 9 kDa. MALDI spectra generated from fractionation of the effluent collected from the same SEC separation are shown to be in good agreement with the ESI spectra with respect to molecular weight distributions and types of ions generated. ESI and MALDI mass spectra of samples obtained from sequential graded ethanol precipitation and SEC fractionation of acid and enzymatically digested arabinoxylan polysaccharides show important structural differences between polysaccharide fragments. In addition, a comparison is made between the mass spectra of native and permethylated SEC-separated fragments of acid and enzymatically treated arabinogalactan. Linkage information of the permethylated arabinogalactan oligomers can be rapidly established through the use of on-line SEC/ESI-MS( n) experiments.     

Determination of species-specific components in the venom of Parabuthus scorpions from southern Africa using matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The aim of the present study was to analyze mass spectra of scorpions belonging to the genus Parabuthus (Pocock 1890) by means of matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) and to construct a species-specific venom code for species identification. The venom compositions of sixteen Parabuthus species, occurring in southern Africa, were characterized using representative peaks in the molecular mass range of 6400-8400 Da. This mass range is characteristic for the typical long-chain neurotoxins influencing sodium channels. Only a few of these peptides have been sequenced up to now. The impetus for development of these species-specific profiles was the observation of unique, highly reproducible mass spectral peaks within a specific species. An identification label for all the different species could be found using a minimum number of peaks. MALDI-TOFMS is therefore proposed as a complementary method to morphological and behavioural characteristics for species and ultimately subspecies discrimination.     

Characterization of intact Penicillium spores by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

The fungal spores of Penicillium expansum, P. chrysogenum, P. citrinum, P. digitatum, P. italicum, and P. pinophilum were characterized by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). These fungal spores are frequently found in grain and fruit. The mass spectra of these six species were directly obtained from the intact spores without any pretreatment. The results obtained indicate that 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid and sinapinic acid are suitable matrices for the analysis of Penicillium spores. Characteristic ions representing the different species were obtained with sufficiently high reproducibility that these ions can be employed to identify the different fungal species. On the basis of these characteristic ions obtained from these authentic Penicillium spores, the approach was applied to characterize the fungal species contaminating the surfaces of fruit. It was demonstrated that the fungal spores directly scratched from the surfaces of fruit contaminated by unknown fungi can be rapidly identified using MALDI-TOFMS analysis without any tedious pretreatment.     

Mass spectra of doubly charged ions

The mass spectra of biological molecules, whose molecular mass exceeds 10 kDa, invariably contain multiply charged ions. For example, a survey scan of a small protein will produce singly, doubly and triply protonated molecules, the intensity of the doubly charged species often being greater than that of the singly charged entity. Although the spectra resulting from doubly charged peptides have not previously been studied, collisional activation of such doubly charged species may result in significant additional information pertaining to molecular structure. The techniques employed to study ions originating from multiply charged species were linked scanning of constant B/E and tandem mass spectrometry, namely low collision energy spectra acquired on a BEQQ hybrid instrument. The methodology was applied to model compounds whose tandem mass spectrometry characteristics are well known, e.g. gramicidin S and angiotensin I. The results for the product ions of the [M + 2H]²⁺ species of the models were obtained which highlight the methodology required for high-mass materials.     

Rapid identification of stress-related fingerprint from whole bacterial cells of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bifidobacterium lactis</Emphasis> using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Whole cells of Bifidobacterium lactis were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). Characteristic and reproducible mass spectra were obtained in the mass range from 6 to 19 kDa. After several days of bacterial cell storage at 4 degrees C (D0, D2, and D6), only minor signal differences were observed. Under identical and reproducible conditions, fourteen relevant diagnostic ions were identified. Moreover, control- and stress-related fingerprints were rapidly obtained using MALDI-TOFMS by comparison of protein patterns obtained from non-stressed (control) versus stressed cells (addition of bile salts during growth). After quantitative validation of the MALDI-MS data by a statistical approach, two and eight signals were assigned as control- and stress-specific ions, respectively. This work provides the evidence that MALDI-TOFMS can be used for the identification of stress-related fingerprint of B. lactis bacterial cells and could have a high potential for the assessment of the physiological status of the cells.     

Mass spectrometric analysis of the individual variability of Bothrops jararaca venom peptide fraction. Evidence for sex-based variation among the bradykinin-potentiating peptides

Variation in the snake venom proteome is well documented and it is a ubiquitous phenomenon at all taxonomical levels. However, variation in the snake venom peptidome is so far not described. In this work we used mass spectrometry [liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOFMS)] to explore sex-based differences among the venom peptides of eighteen sibling specimens of Bothrops jararaca of a single litter born and raised in the laboratory. MALDI-TOFMS analyses showed individual variability among the bradykinin-potentiating peptides (BPPs), and, interestingly, four new peptides were detected only in female venoms and identified by de novo sequencing as cleaved BPPs lacking the C-terminal Q-I-P-P sequence. Similar results were obtained with venom from wild-caught adult non-sibling specimens of B. jararaca and in this case we were able to identify the gender of the specimen by analyzing the MALDI-TOF profile of the peptide fraction and finding the cleaved peptides only in female venoms. Synthetic replicates of the cleaved BPPs were less potent than the full-length BPP-10c in potentiating the bradykinin hypotensive effect, suggesting that the C-terminus is critical for the interaction of the BPPs with their mammalian molecular targets. This work represents a comprehensive mass spectrometric analysis of the peptide fraction of B. jararaca venom and shows for the first time sex-based differences in the snake venom peptidome of sibling and non-sibling snakes and suggests that the BPPs may follow distinct processing pathways in female and male individuals.     

Characterization of phosphopeptides from protein digests using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and nanoelectrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A two-step mass spectrometric method for characterization of phosphopeptides from peptide mixtures is presented. In the first step, phosphopeptide candidates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) based on their higher relative intensities in negative ion MALDI spectra than in positive ion MALDI spectra. The detection limit for this step was found to be 18 femtomoles or lower in the case of unfractionated in-solution digests of a model phosphoprotein, beta-casein. In the second step, nanoelectrospray tandem mass (nES-MS/MS) spectra of doubly or triply charged precursor ions of these candidate phosphopeptides were obtained using a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer. This step provided information about the phosphorylated residues, and ruled out nonphosphorylated candidates, for these peptides. After [(32)P] labeling and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) to simplify the mixtures and to monitor the efficiency of phosphopeptide identification, we used this method to identify multiple autophosphorylation sites on the PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), a recently discovered mammalian stress-response protein.     

Use of meso- tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin as a matrix for low molecular weight alkylphenol ethoxylates in laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The use of UV-absorbing molecules as matrices in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) is well documented. The matrices that are currently used have low molecular weights (<300 Da) and thus, for a typical MALDI-TOF spectrum, the low-mass range (m/z 100-500) is dominated by matrix ions. Consequently, the applications of MALDI-TOFMS have been restricted mostly to the analysis of high molecular weight analytes. This report demonstrates the use of meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (F20TPP, MW 974.57) as a matrix in the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis of some commercial nonylphenol ethoxylates (4-(C(9)H(19))-C(6)H(4)-(OCH(2)CH(2))(n)-OH), in which the ethoxymer ion distribution ranges from 331-771 Da. When F20TPP was used without a sodium ion dopant, there were no MALDI signals for the ethoxylates. However, addition of sodium acetate to the sample produced MALDI spectra in which the ethoxymer molecules were sodiated to form [M + Na](+) ions. A comparison of the mass spectrometric data with those obtained when alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) was used as the matrix indicated that the F20TPP-induced spectra provided comparable data, with the advantage of having less matrix interference in the low-mass range (m/z 100-500). Thus, the use of F20TPP and similar porphyrins may provide the means to apply MALDI-TOF to the analysis of low molecular weight molecules with minimum interference from matrix signals. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation into accurate mass capability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, with respect to radical ion species

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) has been shown to be an effective technique for the characterization of organometallic, coordination, and highly conjugated compounds. The preferred matrix is 2-[(2E)-3-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2-methylprop-2-enylidene]malononitrile (DCTB), with radical ions observed. However, MALDI-TOFMS is generally not favored for accurate mass measurement. A specific method had to be developed for such compounds to assure the quality of our accurate mass results. Therefore, in this preliminary study, two methods of data acquisition, and both even-electron (EE+) ion and odd-electron (OE+.) radical ion mass calibration standards, have been investigated to establish the basic measurement technique. The benefit of this technique is demonstrated for a copper compound for which ions were observed by MALDI, but not by electrospray (ESI) or liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (LSIMS); a mean mass accuracy error of -1.2 ppm was obtained.     

Nanospray analysis of the venom of the tarantula Theraphosa leblondi: a powerful method for direct venom mass fingerprinting and toxin sequencing

Mass spectrometric methods, including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), on-line liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS), and nanospray ionisation/hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (nanoESI-QqTOFMS), were applied to characterize by mass fingerprinting the venom of the French Guyanese tarantula Theraphosa leblondi. Of these techniques direct nanoESI-QqTOFMS, which allowed the detection of 65 protonated molecules with high mass accuracy, appeared to give the best results. Three major peptides, TlTx1, TlTx2 and TlTx3, were sequenced using a combination of nanoESI-MS/MS and enzyme digestion/MS and MS/MS experiments. Each sequence was confirmed by automated Edman sequencing. In patch-clamp experiments these peptides were found to have a specific inhibitory effect on the voltage-dependent potassium channel, Kv4.2.     

Top-down identification of endogenous peptides up to 9 kDa in cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue by nanoelectrospray quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Recent work on protein and peptide biomarker patterns revealed the difficulties in identifying their molecular components, which is indispensable for validation of the biological context. Cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue are used as sources to discover new biomarkers, e.g. for neurodegenerative diseases. Many of these biomarker candidates are peptides with a molecular mass of <10 kDa. Their identification is favourably achieved with a 'top-down' approach, because this requires less purification and an enzymatic cleavage will often not yield enough specific fragments for successful database searches. Here, we describe an approach using quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) as a highly efficient mass spectrometric purification and identification tool after off-line decomplexation of biological samples by liquid chromatography. After initial peptidomic screening with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) TOFMS, the elution behaviour in chromatography and the exact molecular mass were used to locate the same signals in nanoelectrospray measurements. Most of the peaks detected in MALDI-TOFMS could be retrieved in nanoelectrospray quadrupole TOFMS. Suitable collision energies for informative fragment spectra were investigated for different parent ions, charge states and molecular masses. After collision-induced dissociation, the resulting fragmentation data of multiply charged ions can become much more complicated than those derived from tryptic peptide digests. However, the mass accuracy and resolution of quadrupole TOF instruments results in high-quality data suitable for determining peptide sequences. The protein precursor, proteolytic processing and post-translational modifications were identified by automated database searches. This is demonstrated by the exemplary identifications of thymosin beta-4 (5.0 kDa) and NPY (4.3 kDa) from rat hypothalamic tissue and ubiquitin (8.6 kDa) from human cerebrospinal fluid. The high data quality should also allow for de novo identification. This methodology is generally applicable for peptides up to a molecular mass of about 10 kDa from body fluids, tissues or other biological sources.     

Electrospray mass spectrometry of recombinant growth hormones

The electrospray mass spectra of several standard proteins were recorded and their molecular weights determined. These were compared to Literature values obtained by other laboratories. The agreement was quite good. Seven recombinant growth hormones were then investigated by this technique. The determined molecular weights were in agreement with the theoretical values. Differentiation between six of the seven analogs could be made on the basis of the molecular weight determinations. Two of these analogs differed in molecular weight by only 1 Da and the accuracy of the mass measurements was not sufficient for distinguishing these two homologous proteins. The influence of solvent on the mass accuracy determinations was studied. It appears that solvents form clusters with the proteins in the electrospray ionization method. These clusters broaden the peaks corresponding to the multiply charged ions of the proteins and make the determination of centroids more difficult.     

Automated deconvolution and deisotoping of electrospray mass spectra

Electrospray ionization (ESI) of peptides and proteins produces a series of multiply charged ions with a mass/charge (m/z) ratio between 500 and 2000. The resulting mass spectra are crowded by these multiple charge values for each molecular mass and an isotopic cluster for each nominal m/z value. Here, we report a new algorithm simultaneously to deconvolute and deisotope ESI mass spectra from complex peptide samples based on their mass-dependent isotopic mean pattern. All signals corresponding to one peptide in the sample were reduced to one singly charged monoisotopic peak, thereby significantly reducing the number of signals, increasing the signal intensity and improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The mass list produced could be used directly for database searching. The developed algorithm also simplified interpretation of fragment ion spectra of multiply charged parent ions.     

Philanthotoxins. A mass spectrometric investigation

A method employing liquid secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in conjunction with metastable-ion measurements (linked scanning at constant B/E) to obtain sequence-specific information for three synthetic polyamine isomers was developed. The normal liquid SIMS spectra gave molecular weight information, but important sequence ions were of low intensity or obscured by the background. The metastable-ion spectra contained important fragment ions in particular due to cleavage along the polyamine chain. One of the three synthetic isomers was identical with a toxin present in the venom of the digger wasp. In conjunction with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies, this should be a powerful method for the structural characterization of other closely related toxins present in the venom of this wasp.     

Application of automated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the measurement of enzyme activities

Sample preparation methods and data acquisition protocols were optimized for the application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) to high-throughput quantitative analysis of low molecular mass substrates and products of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. Using a deuterlum-labeled internal standard, precise standard curves were obtained (r(2) = 0.9998) over two orders of magnitude of concentration of rac-1-phenylethylamine (PEA), which is converted to 2-methoxy-N-[(1R)-1-phenylethyl]acetamide (MET) by a lipase-catalyzed reaction with ethylmethoxyacetate (EMA) as second substrate. Reliable relative standard deviations were achieved (< or =5%) using automated analysis with peak intensity ratios between 0.2 and 5 of analyte to internal standard. This method permitted quantitative analysis of the lipase reaction, producing results comparable to those from gas chromatographic (GC) analysis in the dynamic range of GC. This work shows that MALDI-TOFMS can be applied for the high-throughput screening of enzymes.     

Moving pieces in a proteomic puzzle: mass fingerprinting of toxic fractions from the venom of Tityus serrulatus (Scorpiones, Buthidae).

Scorpion venoms are very complex mixtures of molecules, most of which are peptides that display different kinds of biological activity. These venoms have been studied in the light of their pharmacological targets and their constituents are able to bind specifically to a variety of ionic channels located in prey tissues, resulting in neurotoxic effects. Toxins that modulate Na(+), K(+), Ca(++) and Cl(-) currents have been described in scorpion venoms. Mass spectrometry was employed to analyze toxic fractions from the venom of the Brazilian scorpion Tityus serrulatus in order to shed light on the molecular composition of this venom and to facilitate the search for novel pharmacologically active compounds. T. serrulatus venom was first subjected to gel filtration to separate its constituents according to their molecular size. The resultant fractions II and III, which account for 90 and 10% respectively of the whole venom toxic effect, were further analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), on-line liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry (LC/ESMS) and off-line LC/MALDI-TOFMS in order to establish their mass fingerprints. The molecular masses in fraction II were predominantly between 6500 and 7500 Da. This corresponds to long-chain toxins that mainly act on voltage-gated Na(+) channels. Fraction III is more complex and predominantly contained molecules with masses between 2500 and 5000 Da. This corresponds to the short-chain toxin family, most of which act on K(+) channels, and other unknown peptides. Finally, we were able to measure the molecular masses of 380 different compounds present in the two fractions investigated. To our knowledge, this is the largest number of components ever detected in the venom of a single animal species. Some of the toxins described previously from T. serrulatus venom could be detected by virtue of their molecular masses. The interpretation of this large set of data has provided us with useful proteomic information on the venom, and the implications of these findings are discussed.     

The use of nonpolar matrices for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis of high boiling crude oil fractions

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) with nonpolar matrices has been investigated for its applicability to the characterization of atmospheric resid crude oil fractions. The data obtained by use of nonpolar matrices was compared with that from polar matrices as well as from direct LDI-MS and field ionization mass spectrometry. Nonpolar matrices, such as anthracene or 9-cyanoanthracene, yield only a single radical molecular cation upon LDI. Thus, no interfering matrix-related ions are present during the MALDI-TOFMS analysis of the crude oil sample. Nonpolar matrices yield molecular mass distributions from linear mode MALDI-TOFMS that are comparable to distributions found with LDI-MS. An advantage of nonpolar matrices is the increased production of analyte ions, which allows reflectron mode MALDI-TOFMS to be performed. Nonpolar matrices are also shown to be less sensitive to solvent and sample preparation conditions than conventional polar matrices. These results suggest that nonpolar matrices may be favorable alternatives to more traditional polar or acidic matrices commonly used in the MALDI mass spectral characterization of crude oil related samples.     

Characterization of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-epsilon-caprolactone] copolymers by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) of narrowly dispersed molecular weight gel permeation chromatography (GPC) fractions was used to characterize random and microblock poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-epsilon-caprolactone] [P(HB-co-CL)] copolymers obtained via the acid-catalyzed transesterification of the corresponding homopolymers, poly([(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL). High-quality mass spectra were obtained, which made it possible to establish the nature of the polymer end groups. Besides the carboxylic termination, two other moieties were found: alcoholic and tosyl end groups. MALDI mass spectra of CL-rich samples possessed mostly tosyl end groups, while HB-rich samples possessed mostly alcoholic end groups, showing that the tosyl moiety is linked prevalently to CL terminal units. The higher resolution of electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra of lower molecular weight GPC fractions permitted the identification of the different oligomer species hypothesized in the assignment of the corresponding MALDI mass spectra. Partial methanolysis of these copolymers was explored as a method of producing mixed HB-CL oligomers to be utilized as new synthons, possessing a minor number of chiral centers from those obtained from hydrolysis of biotechnologically synthesized poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs).     

A high pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry ion source for thermal stabilization of labile biomolecules

A high pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) ion source was designed and tested. With this design, pressure is pulsed to an estimated 1-10 mbar in the region of the MALDI sample during desorption with the result of significantly decreased fragmentation compared to similar systems operating with pressures of <0.1 mbar. The thermal stabilization of vibrationally excited ions under these conditions is shown with small peptides desorbed from the "hot" matrix alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, and with the highly labile oxidized beta-chain of insulin. Fragile gangliosides with several sialic acid residues are desorbed under high pressure and remain intact without the typical losses of sialic acid, and a protein standard, ubiquitin (8565.64 Da), is desorbed with minimal dehydration. Under high pressure collisional cooling conditions, non-covalent matrix adduction to the molecular ions becomes prominent, but with the trapped ions in an FT mass spectrometer, the ions can be mildly activated to detach the matrix adducts. The new source, additionally, generates significant levels of the multiply charged ions which are commonly seen in MALDI-TOFMS, but are rarely observed in MALDI-FTMS. This effect is more likely due to the elimination of a mass filtering effect in the previous FTMS ion source than to collisional cooling of the ions.