Characterization of an N-acylated glucagon-like peptide-1 derivative by electron capture dissociation

Electron capture dissociation and collision induced dissociation of S-dipalmitoylated peptides

Here we investigate the effect of S-dipalmitoylation on the electron capture dissociation (ECD) behavior of peptides. The ECD and collision induced dissociation (CID) of peptides modified by covalent attachment of [(RS)-2,3-di(palmitoyloxy)-propyl] (PAM2) group to cysteine residues [C(PAM2)LEYDTGFK and RPPGC(PAM2)SPFK] were examined. The results suggest that ECD of S-dipalmitoylated peptides can provide both primary sequence information and structural information regarding the modification. The structural information provided by CID is complementary to that provided by ECD.

Differentiation of isomeric amino acid residues in proteins and peptides using mass spectrometry

Characterization and differentiation of isomers in biological macromolecules using mass spectrometry is one of the most significant challenges facing scientists in the field. The capability of high-resolution MS instruments along with the development of new fragmentation methods now provides the ability to indirectly differentiate between some isomers. This ability has enabled mass spectrometry to evolve into a multidisciplinary technique incorporating areas such as pharmaceutical research, proteomics, polymer science, medicine, environmental chemistry, and recently archeology. This article aims to review recent developments in mass spectrometry methodologies in the identification of structural and spatial isomers in biological macromolecules, such as aspartic acid and isoaspartic acid (Asp/IsoAsp), leucine and isoleucine (Leu/Ile), glutamic acid and γ-glutamic acid, and D/L enantiomers.

Characterization of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-modified peptides by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using data-dependent acquisition: neutral loss-driven MS3 versus neutral loss-driven electron capture dissociation

Reactive oxygen species generated during oxidative stress can lead to unfavorable cellular consequences, predominantly due to formation of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) during lipid peroxidation. Data-dependent and neutral loss (NL)-driven MS(3) acquisition have been reported for the identification of HNE adducts by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. However, the limitation associated with this method is the ambiguity in correct assignment of the HNE modification site when more than one candidate site is present as MS(3) is triggered on the neutral loss ion. We introduce NL-triggered electron capture dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (NL-ECD-MS/MS) for the characterization of HNE-modification sites in peptides. With this method performed using a hybrid linear ion trap-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer, ECD in the FTICR unit of the instrument is initiated on precursor ions of peptides showing the neutral loss of 156 Da corresponding to an HNE molecule in the prescan acquired via collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry in the linear ion trap. In addition to manifold advantages associated with the ECD method of backbone fragmentation, including extensive sequence fragments, ECD tends to retain the HNE group during MS/MS of the precursor ion, facilitating the correct localization of the modification site. The results also suggest that predisposition of a peptide molecular ion to lose HNE during collision-induced dissociation-based fragmentation is independent of its charge state (2+ or 3+). In addition, we have demonstrated that coupling of solid-phase enrichment of HNE-modified peptides facilitates the detection of this posttranslational modification by NL-driven strategies for low-abundance proteins that are susceptible to substoichiometric carbonylation during oxidative stress.