The utility of ETD mass spectrometry in proteomic analysis

Mass spectrometry has played an integral role in the identification of proteins and their post-translational modifications (PTM). However, analysis of some PTMs, such as phosphorylation, sulfonation, and glycosylation, is difficult with collision-activated dissociation (CAD) since the modification is labile and preferentially lost over peptide backbone fragmentation, resulting in little to no peptide sequence information. The presence of multiple basic residues also makes peptides exceptionally difficult to sequence by conventional CAD mass spectrometry. Here we review the utility of electron transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectrometry for sequence analysis of post-translationally modified and/or highly basic peptides. Phosphorylated, sulfonated, glycosylated, nitrosylated, disulfide bonded, methylated, acetylated, and highly basic peptides have been analyzed by CAD and ETD mass spectrometry. CAD fragmentation typically produced spectra showing limited peptide backbone fragmentation. However, when these peptides were fragmented using ETD, peptide backbone fragmentation produced a complete or almost complete series of ions and thus extensive peptide sequence information. In addition, labile PTMs remained intact. These examples illustrate the utility of ETD as an advantageous tool in proteomic research by readily identifying peptides resistant to analysis by CAD. A further benefit is the ability to analyze larger, non-tryptic peptides, allowing for the detection of multiple PTMs within the context of one another.     

Higher Energy Collision Dissociation (HCD) Product Ion-Triggered Electron Transfer Dissociation (ETD) Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of N-Linked Glycoproteins

Large scale mass spectrometry analysis of N-linked glycopeptides is complicated by the inherent complexity of the glycan structures. Here, we evaluate a mass spectrometry approach for the targeted analysis of N-linked glycopeptides in complex mixtures that does not require prior knowledge of the glycan structures or pre-enrichment of the glycopeptides. Despite the complexity of N-glycans, the core of the glycan remains constant, comprising two N-acetylglucosamine and three mannose units. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectrometry of N-glycopeptides results in the formation of the N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) oxonium ion and a [mannose+GlcNAc] fragment (in addition to other fragments resulting from cleavage within the glycan). In ion-trap CID, those ions are not detected due to the low m/z cutoff; however, they are detected following the beam-type CID known as higher energy collision dissociation (HCD) on the orbitrap mass spectrometer. The presence of these product ions following HCD can be used as triggers for subsequent electron transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectrometry analysis of the precursor ion. The ETD mass spectrum provides peptide sequence information, which is unobtainable from HCD. A Lys-C digest of ribonuclease B and trypsin digest of immunoglobulin G were separated by ZIC-HILIC liquid chromatography and analyzed by HCD product ion-triggered ETD. The data were analyzed both manually and by search against protein databases by commonly used algorithms. The results show that the product ion-triggered approach shows promise for the field of glycoproteomics and highlight the requirement for more sophisticated data mining tools.     

生物活性肽蛋白质组分分离与鉴定方法的建立

目的:评估大规模蛋白质组分离与鉴定技术策略在生物活性肽研究中的应用价值。方法:采用全溶液酶解及胶内分离与酶解方法分离生物活性肽;肽段离子阱串联质谱鉴定时,采用碰撞诱导解离与电子转移解离2种互补的肽段碎裂模式。结果:几种方法联用,鉴定到复杂生物活性肽样品中236个多肽大分子;不同分离和鉴定策略显示出良好的互补性,基于凝胶电泳分离的策略提供了最好的鉴定效果。结论:大规模的蛋白质组学分离与鉴定技术策略可以有效应用于生物活性肽组分的表征。     

Combining high-energy C-trap dissociation and electron transfer dissociation for protein O-GlcNAc modification site assignment

Mass spectrometry-based studies of proteins that are post-translationally modified by O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) are challenged in effectively identifying the sites of modification while simultaneously sequencing the peptides. Here we tested the hypothesis that a combination of high-energy C-trap dissociation (HCD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) could specifically target the O-GlcNAc modified peptides and elucidate the amino acid sequence while preserving the attached GlcNAc residue for accurate site assignment. By taking advantage of the recently characterized O-GlcNAc-specific IgG monoclonal antibodies and the combination of HCD and ETD fragmentation techniques, O-GlcNAc modified proteins were enriched from HEK293T cells and subsequently characterized using the LTQ Orbitrap Velos ETD (Thermo Fisher Scientific) mass spectrometer. In our data set, 83 sites of O-GlcNAc modification are reported with high confidence confirming that the HCD/ETD combined approach is amenable to the detection and site assignment of O-GlcNAc modified peptides. Realizing HCD triggered ETD fragmentation on a linear ion trap/Orbitrap platform for more in-depth analysis and application of this technique to other post-translationally modified proteins are currently underway. Furthermore, this report illustrates that the O-GlcNAc transferase appears to demonstrate promiscuity with regards to the hydroxyl-containing amino acid modified in short stretches of primary sequence of the glycosylated polypeptides.     

Improved peptide identification by targeted fragmentation using CID, HCD and ETD on an LTQ-Orbitrap Velos

Over the past decade peptide sequencing by collision induced dissociation (CID) has become the method of choice in mass spectrometry-based proteomics. The development of alternative fragmentation techniques such as electron transfer dissociation (ETD) has extended the possibilities within tandem mass spectrometry. Recent advances in instrumentation allow peptide fragment ions to be detected with high speed and sensitivity (e.g., in a 2D or 3D ion trap) or at high resolution and high mass accuracy (e.g., an Orbitrap or a ToF). Here, we describe a comprehensive experimental comparison of using ETD, ion-trap CID, and beam type CID (HCD) in combination with either linear ion trap or Orbitrap readout for the large-scale analysis of tryptic peptides. We investigate which combination of fragmentation technique and mass analyzer provides the best performance for the analysis of distinct peptide populations such as N-acetylated, phosphorylated, and tryptic peptides with up to two missed cleavages. We found that HCD provides more peptide identifications than CID and ETD for doubly charged peptides. In terms of Mascot score, ETD FT outperforms the other techniques for peptides with charge states higher than 2. Our data shows that there is a trade-off between spectral quality and speed when using the Orbitrap for fragment ion detection. We conclude that a decision-tree regulated combination of higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD) and ETD can improve the average Mascot score.     

A general precursor ion-like scanning mode on quadrupole-TOF instruments compatible with chromatographic separation

MS protein identification and quantitation are key proteomic techniques in biological research. Besides identification of proteins, MS is used increasingly to characterize secondary protein modifications. This often requires trimming the analytical strategy to a specific type of modification. Direct analysis of protein modifications in proteomic samples is often hampered by the limited dynamic range of current analytical tools. Here we present a fast, sensitive, multiplexed precursor ion scanning mode--implemented on a quadrupole-TOF instrument--that allows the specific detection of any modified peptide or molecule that reveals itself by a specific fragment ion or pattern of fragment ions within a complex proteomic sample. The high mass accuracy of the TOF mass spectrometer is available for the marker ion specificity and the precursor ion mass determination. The method is compatible with chromatographic separation. Fragment ions and intact molecular ions are acquired quasi-simultaneously by continuously switching the collision energy between elevated and low levels. Using this technique many secondary modifications can be analyzed in parallel; however, the number of peptides carrying a specific modification that can be analyzed successfully is limited by the chromatographic resolution or, more generally, by the depth of the resolved time domain.     

Electron transfer dissociation mass spectrometry in proteomics

Mass spectrometry has rapidly evolved to become the platform of choice for proteomic analysis. While CID remains the major fragmentation method for peptide sequencing, electron transfer dissociation (ETD) is emerging as a complementary method for the characterization of peptides and post-translational modifications (PTMs). Here, we review the evolution of ETD and some of its newer applications including characterization of PTMs, non-tryptic peptides and intact proteins. We will also discuss some of the unique features of ETD such as its complementarity with CID and the use of alternating CID/ETD along with issues pertaining to analysis of ETD data. The potential of ETD for applications such as multiple reaction monitoring and proteogenomics in the future will also be discussed.     

Decision tree-driven tandem mass spectrometry for shotgun proteomics

Mass spectrometry has become a key technology for modern large-scale protein sequencing. Tandem mass spectrometry, the process of peptide ion dissociation followed by mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) analysis, is the critical component for peptide identification. Recent advances in mass spectrometry now permit two discrete, and complementary, types of peptide ion fragmentation: collision-activated dissociation (CAD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) on a single instrument. To exploit this complementarity and increase sequencing success rates, we designed and embedded a data-dependent decision tree algorithm (DT) to make unsupervised, real-time decisions of which fragmentation method to use based on precursor charge and m/z. Applying the DT to large-scale proteome analyses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human embryonic stem cells, we identified 53,055 peptides in total, which was greater than by using CAD (38,293) or ETD (39,507) alone. In addition, the DT method also identified 7,422 phosphopeptides, compared to either 2,801 (CAD) or 5,874 (ETD) phosphopeptides.     

Enrichment and analysis of nonenzymatically glycated peptides: boronate affinity chromatography coupled with electron-transfer dissociation mass spectrometry

Nonenzymatic glycation of peptides and proteins by d-glucose has important implications in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, particularly in the development of diabetic complications. However, no effective high-throughput methods exist for identifying proteins containing this low-abundance post-translational modification in bottom-up proteomic studies. In this report, phenylboronate affinity chromatography was used in a two-step enrichment scheme to selectively isolate first glycated proteins and then glycated, tryptic peptides from human serum glycated in vitro. Enriched peptides were subsequently analyzed by alternating electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) and collision induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry. ETD fragmentation mode permitted identification of a significantly higher number of glycated peptides (87.6% of all identified peptides) versus CID mode (17.0% of all identified peptides), when utilizing enrichment on first the protein and then the peptide level. This study illustrates that phenylboronate affinity chromatography coupled with LC-MS/MS and using ETD as the fragmentation mode is an efficient approach for analysis of glycated proteins and may have broad application in studies of diabetes mellitus.     

Trade-off between high sensitivity and increased potential for false positive peptide sequence matches using a two-dimensional linear ion trap for tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomics

Two-dimensional linear ion trap mass spectrometers are rapidly becoming the new workhorse instruments for shotgun proteomic analysis of complex peptide mixtures. The objective of this study was to compare the potential for false positive peptide sequence matches between a two-dimensional ion trap instrument and a traditional, three-dimensional ion trap instrument. Through the comparative analysis of a complex protein sample, we found that in order to minimize false positive sequence matches, sequence match scoring criteria must be more stringent for data from the two-dimensional ion trap compared to the three-dimensional ion trap data. Given this increased potential for false positives, we also investigated two potential filtering strategies to reduce the false positive matches for data derived from the two-dimensional ion trap, including trypsin enzyme cleavage filtering, and the addition of peptide physicochemical information as a constraint, specifically peptide isoelectric point. The results described here provide a cautionary tale to researchers, demonstrating the need for careful analysis of MS/MS data from this new class of ion trap instruments, as well as the effectiveness of trypsin enzyme cleavage filtering and peptide pI information in maximizing high confidence protein identifications from this powerful proteomic instrumentation.     

Systematic comparison of a two-dimensional ion trap and a three-dimensional ion trap mass spectrometer in proteomics

The utility and advantages of the recently introduced two-dimensional quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer in proteomics over the traditional three-dimensional ion trap mass spectrometer have not been systematically characterized. Here we rigorously compared the performance of these two platforms by using over 100,000 tandem mass spectra acquired with identical complex peptide mixtures and acquisition parameters. Specifically we compared four factors that are critical for a successful proteomic study: 1) the number of proteins identified, 2) sequence coverage or the number of peptides identified for every protein, 3) the data base matching SEQUEST X(corr) and S(p) score, and 4) the quality of the fragment ion series of peptides. We found a 4-6-fold increase in the number of peptides and proteins identified on the two-dimensional ion trap mass spectrometer as a direct result of improvement in all the other parameters examined. Interestingly more than 70% of the doubly and triply charged peptides, but not the singly charged peptides, showed better quality of fragmentation spectra on the two-dimensional ion trap. These results highlight specific advantages of the two-dimensional ion trap over the conventional three-dimensional ion traps for protein identification in proteomic experiments.     

Parts per million mass accuracy on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer via lock mass injection into a C-trap

Mass accuracy is a key parameter of mass spectrometric performance. TOF instruments can reach low parts per million, and FT-ICR instruments are capable of even greater accuracy provided ion numbers are well controlled. Here we demonstrate sub-ppm mass accuracy on a linear ion trap coupled via a radio frequency-only storage trap (C-trap) to the orbitrap mass spectrometer (LTQ Orbitrap). Prior to acquisition of a spectrum, a background ion originating from ambient air is first transferred to the C-trap. Ions forming the MS or MS(n) spectrum are then added to this species, and all ions are injected into the orbitrap for analysis. Real time recalibration on the "lock mass" by corrections of mass shift removes mass error associated with calibration of the mass scale. The remaining mass error is mainly due to imperfect peaks caused by weak signals and is addressed by averaging the mass measurement over the LC peak, weighted by signal intensity. For peptide database searches in proteomics, we introduce a variable mass tolerance and achieve average absolute mass deviations of 0.48 ppm (standard deviation 0.38 ppm) and maximal deviations of less than 2 ppm. For tandem mass spectra we demonstrate similarly high mass accuracy and discuss its impact on database searching. High and routine mass accuracy in a compact instrument will dramatically improve certainty of peptide and small molecule identification.     

Enhanced peptide identification by electron transfer dissociation using an improved Mascot Percolator

Peptide identification using tandem mass spectrometry is a core technology in proteomics. Latest generations of mass spectrometry instruments enable the use of electron transfer dissociation (ETD) to complement collision induced dissociation (CID) for peptide fragmentation. However, a critical limitation to the use of ETD has been optimal database search software. Percolator is a post-search algorithm, which uses semi-supervised machine learning to improve the rate of peptide spectrum identifications (PSMs) together with providing reliable significance measures. We have previously interfaced the Mascot search engine with Percolator and demonstrated sensitivity and specificity benefits with CID data. Here, we report recent developments in the Mascot Percolator V2.0 software including an improved feature calculator and support for a wider range of ion series. The updated software is applied to the analysis of several CID and ETD fragmented peptide data sets. This version of Mascot Percolator increases the number of CID PSMs by up to 80% and ETD PSMs by up to 60% at a 0.01 q-value (1% false discovery rate) threshold over a standard Mascot search, notably recovering PSMs from high charge state precursor ions. The greatly increased number of PSMs and peptide coverage afforded by Mascot Percolator has enabled a fuller assessment of CID/ETD complementarity to be performed. Using a data set of CID and ETcaD spectral pairs, we find that at a 1% false discovery rate, the overlap in peptide identifications by CID and ETD is 83%, which is significantly higher than that obtained using either stand-alone Mascot (69%) or OMSSA (39%). We conclude that Mascot Percolator is a highly sensitive and accurate post-search algorithm for peptide identification and allows direct comparison of peptide identifications using multiple alternative fragmentation techniques.     

Methods for analyzing peptides and proteins on a chromatographic timescale by electron-transfer dissociation mass spectrometry

Advancement in proteomics research relies on the development of new, innovative tools for identifying and characterizing proteins. Here, we describe a protocol for analyzing peptides and proteins on a chromatographic timescale by coupling nanoflow reverse-phase (RP) liquid chromatography (LC) to electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectrometry. For this protocol, proteins can be proteolytically digested before ETD analysis, although digestion is not necessary for all applications. Proteins 相似文献   

On-line LC-MS approach combining collision-induced dissociation (CID), electron-transfer dissociation (ETD), and CID of an isolated charge-reduced species for the trace-level characterization of proteins with post-translational modifications

We have expanded our recent on-line LC-MS platform for large peptide analysis to combine collision-induced dissociation (CID), electron-transfer dissociation (ETD), and CID of an isolated charge-reduced (CRCID) species derived from ETD to determine sites of phosphorylation and glycosylation modifications, as well as the sequence of large peptide fragments (i.e., 2000-10,000 Da) from complex proteins, such as beta-casein, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) at the low femtomol level. The incorporation of an additional CID activation step for a charge-reduced species, isolated from ETD fragment ions, improved ETD fragmentation when precursor ions with high m/z (approximately >1000) were automatically selected for fragmentation. Specifically, the identification of the exact phosphorylation sites was strengthened by the extensive coverage of the peptide sequence with a near-continuous product ion series. The identification of N-linked glycosylation sites in EGFR and an O-linked glycosylation site in t-PA were also improved through the enhanced identification of the peptide backbone sequence of the glycosylated precursors. The new strategy is a good starting survey scan to characterize enzymatic peptide mixtures over a broad range of masses using LC-MS with data-dependent acquisition, as the three activation steps can provide complementary information to each other. In general, large peptides can be extensively characterized by the ETD and CRCID steps, including sites of modification from the generated, near-continuous product ion series, supplemented by the CID-MS2 step. At the same time, small peptides (e.g., 相似文献   

Electron transfer dissociation of peptides generated by microwave D-cleavage digestion of proteins

The nonenzymatic digestion of proteins by microwave D-cleavage is an effective technique for site-specific cleavage at aspartic acid (D). This specific cleavage C-terminal to D residues leads to inherently large peptides (15-25 amino acids) that are usually relatively highly charged (above +3) when ionized by electrospray ionization (ESI) due to the presence of several basic amino acids within their sequences. It is well-documented that highly charged peptide ions generated by ESI are well-suited for electron transfer dissociation (ETD), which produces c- and z-type fragment ions via gas-phase ion/ion reactions. In this paper, we describe the sequence analysis by ETD tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) of multiply charged peptides generated by microwave D-cleavage of several standard proteins. Results from ETD measurements are directly compared to CID MS/MS of the same multiply charged precursor ions. Our results demonstrate that the nonenzymatic microwave D-cleavage technique is a rapid (<6 min) and specific alternative to enzymatic cleavage with Lys-C or Asp-N to produce highly charged peptides that are amenable to informative ETD.     

Sulfonation chemistry as a powerful tool for MALDI TOF/TOF de novo sequencing and post-translational modification analysis.

Mass spectrometry using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a widespread technique for various types of proteomic analysis. In the identification of proteins using peptide mass fingerprinting, samples are enzymatically digested and resolved into a number of peptides, whose masses are determined and matched with a sequence data-base. However, the presence inside the cell of several splicing variants, protein isoforms, or fusion proteins gives rise to a complex picture, demanding more complete analysis. Moreover, the study of species with yet uncharacterized genomes or the investigation of post-translational modifications are not possible with classical mass fingerprinting, and require specific and accurate de novo sequencing. In the last several years, much effort has been made to improve the performance of peptide sequencing with MALDI. Here we present applications using a fast and robust chemical modification of peptides for improved de novo sequencing. Post-source decay of derivatized peptides generates at the same time peaks with high intensity and simple spectra, leading to a very easy and clear sequence determination.     

Recent developments in ion-trap mass spectrometry and related technologies

Due to their versatility, quadrupole ion traps have become popular mass spectrometers in the growing field of proteomics. High sensitivity, user friendliness and low cost are the key features that have contributed to the success of the technology. However, mass measurement accuracy, resolution and mass range are still not comparable to the analytical performances obtained on other mass spectrometers. In the past 5 years, researchers have tried to overcome these drawbacks, focusing their attention on two different aspects of ion-trap mass spectrometry, development of novel types of ion traps and manipulation of the gas-phase ion chemistry, in order to obtain alternative techniques for tandem mass spectrometry analysis. In the field of trapping devices, improvements in instrumental design have led to the linear ion trap, digital ion trap and orbitrap. Activation methods based on electrons, chemically produced by an anion or from irradiation with an electron beam, have demonstrated their utility in providing complementary sequence information for improving confidence in protein identification.     

Recent developments in ion-trap mass spectrometry and related technologies

Due to their versatility, quadrupole ion traps have become popular mass spectrometers in the growing field of proteomics. High sensitivity, user friendliness and low cost are the key features that have contributed to the success of the technology. However, mass measurement accuracy, resolution and mass range are still not comparable to the analytical performances obtained on other mass spectrometers. In the past 5 years, researchers have tried to overcome these drawbacks, focusing their attention on two different aspects of ion-trap mass spectrometry, development of novel types of ion traps and manipulation of the gas-phase ion chemistry, in order to obtain alternative techniques for tandem mass spectrometry analysis. In the field of trapping devices, improvements in instrumental design have led to the linear ion trap, digital ion trap and orbitrap. Activation methods based on electrons, chemically produced by an anion or from irradiation with an electron beam, have demonstrated their utility in providing complementary sequence information for improving confidence in protein identification.