Ratiometric pulse-chase amidination mass spectrometry as a probe of biomolecular complex formation

Anal Chem. 2011 Dec 1;83(23):9092-9. doi: 10.1021/ac202154r. Epub 2011 Oct 31.

Abstract

Selective chemical modification of protein side chains coupled with mass spectrometry is often most informative when used to compare residue-specific reactivities in a number of functional states or macromolecular complexes. Herein, we develop ratiometric pulse-chase amidination mass spectrometry (rPAm-MS) as a site-specific probe of lysine reactivities at equilibrium using the Cu(I)-sensing repressor CsoR from Bacillus subtilis as a model system. CsoR in various allosteric states was reacted with S-methyl thioacetimidate (SMTA) for pulse time, t, and chased with excess of S-methyl thiopropionimidate (SMTP) (Δ = 14 amu), quenched and digested with chymotrypsin or Glu-C protease, and peptides were quantified by high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and/or liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). We show that the reactivities of individual lysines from peptides containing up to three Lys residues are readily quantified using this method. New insights into operator DNA binding and the Cu(I)-mediated structural transition in the tetrameric copper sensor CsoR are also obtained.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amides / chemistry*
  • Bacillus subtilis / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Chymotrypsin / metabolism
  • Copper / chemistry
  • Kinetics
  • Lysine / chemistry
  • Peptides / analysis
  • Serine Endopeptidases / metabolism
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization*

Substances

  • Amides
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Peptides
  • Copper
  • Serine Endopeptidases
  • Chymotrypsin
  • glutamyl endopeptidase
  • Lysine