Selective screening of tyrosine-nitrated peptides in tryptic mixtures by in-source photodissociation at 355 nm in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization

Anal Chem. 2011 Mar 1;83(5):1704-8. doi: 10.1021/ac1028352. Epub 2011 Feb 10.

Abstract

Nitration of tyrosine residues in proteins is an important post-translational modification related to various diseases such as Alzheimer's. In this work, efficient and selective photodissociation (PD) at 355 nm was observed for [M + H](+), [M + H - 16](+), and [M + H - 32](+) generated by matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption ionization (UV-MALDI) of tyrosine-nitrated peptides (nitropeptides). Product ion spectra obtained by post-source PD at this wavelength contained useful information on the amino acid sequence. The spectra for nitropeptides obtained with 355 nm irradiation inside the ion source (MALDI/in-source PD) displayed characteristic triplet patterns due to PD of the above ions. For peptides displaying prominent signal in a MALDI mass map of a tryptic mixture, which are mostly those with arginine at the C-terminus, in-source PD allowed positive identification of their tyrosine-nitrated forms. Identification of such nitropeptides was possible at the 10 fmol level (in tryptic digest of 100 fmol BSA).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Nitrates / chemistry*
  • Peptide Mapping*
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Trypsin / chemistry*
  • Tyrosine / chemistry*
  • Ultraviolet Rays

Substances

  • Nitrates
  • Tyrosine
  • Trypsin