Protein Footprinting with Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry- Two Decades of Achievement

Background: Radical Probe Mass Spectrometry (RP-MS) describes a pioneering methodology in structural biology that enables the study of protein structures, their interactions, and dynamics on fast timescales (down to sub-milliseconds). Hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generated directly from water within aqueous solutions induce the oxidation of reactive, solvent accessible amino acid side chains that are then analyzed by mass spectrometry. Introduced in 1998 at the American Society for Mass Spectrometry annual conference, RP-MS was first published on in 1999. Objective: This review article describes developments and applications of the RP-MS methodology over the past two decades. Methods: The RP-MS method has been variously referred to as synchrotron X-ray radiolysis footprinting, Hydroxyl Radical Protein Footprinting (HRPF), X-ray Footprinting with Mass Spectrometry (XF-MS), Fast Photochemical Oxidation of Proteins (FPOP), oxidative labelling, covalent oxidative labelling, and even the Stability of Proteins from Rates of Oxidation (SPROX). Results: The article describes the utility of hydroxyl radicals as a protein structural probe, the advantages of RP-MS in comparison to other MS-based approaches, its proof of concept using ion mobility mass spectrometry, its application to protein structure, folding, complex and aggregation studies, its extension to study the onset of protein damage, its implementation using a high throughput sample loading approach, and the development of protein docking algorithms to aid with data analysis and visualization. Conclusion: RP-MS represents a powerful new structural approach that can aid in our understanding of the structure and functions of proteins, and the impact of sustained oxidation on proteins in disease pathogenesis.</jats:sec

New Anthocyanins from Black Elderberry of Inhibitory Potential Revealed by Mass Spectrometry

Background: A resurgent interest in the use of natural product based inhibitors against the influenza virus has resulted from the widespread resistance to current antiviral therapeutics among circulating strains. Natural products derived from food sources in particular, offer the benefit of a safer pharmacological profile and may offer broader health benefits.Objective: To identify new anthocyanins from black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) that will inhibit the function of influenza neuraminidase while avoiding complications associated with mutations in the active site of strains resistant to current inhibitors.Method: The mild solvent extraction process minimizes the exposure of the anthocyanins to non-acidic pH solutions, high temperature and pressure, and ambient light, in order to prevent their chemical transformation or degradation. Total anthocyanin yields are equivalent or better to those reported based on the recovery of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. The characterization of additional anthocyanin components has been achieved by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).Results: The results demonstrate an improved mild recovery method that has enabled the isolation and detection of previously unidentified minor anthocyanin components in elderberry of inhibitory potential against the influenza virus including prenylated cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside, prenylated and other derivatives of cyanidin-3-acetylrutinoside, and a type A proanthocyanin dimer of cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside.Conclusion: The improved recovery of anthocyanins from elderberries, under mild extraction conditions in a manner that preserves their structural integrity, and which yields a wider variety of previously unidentified compounds, should aid in their use and development in the treatment of influenza infections

FluClass: A novel algorithm and approach to score and visualize the phylogeny of the influenza virus using mass spectrometry

A novel computer algorithm FluClass has been developed to facilitate the phylogenetic classification of influenza virus using mass spectral data. FluClass accepts a DNA or protein-based phylogenetic tree as input and generates theoretical peptide mass lists for each node. An experimental mass spectrum from an influenza virus protein digest is then placed onto the phylogenetic tree using a novel random resampling function (Z-score) that allows the scoring of spectrum against both internal and leaf nodes. Testing of the algorithm using hemagglutinin protein sequences from human-host influenza viruses showed that the Z-score performs comparably to the Profound scoring method for the scoring of leaf nodes and is substantially better at scoring internal nodes. Scoring of internal nodes allows colorizations of nodes of the phylogenetic tree enabling the classification of the query spectrum to be rapidly visualized. Finally we demonstrate the utility of FluClass on experimental spectra from six strains. Given that mass spectrometry data can be generated rapidly for influenza virus proteins, FluClass provides a fast and direct method for phylogenetic analysis of influenza proteins

Quantitation of Anthocyanins in Elderberry Fruit Extracts and Nutraceutical Formulations with Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The ability to rapidly identify and quantitate, over a wide range of concentrations, anthocyanins in food and therapeutic products is important to ensuring their presence at medicinally-significant levels. Sensitive, yet mild, analysis conditions are required given their susceptibility to degradation and transformation. Paper spray ionization has been used to detect and quantify the levels of anthocyanin levels in extracts of fresh and dried elderberries, and elderberry stems, as well as three commercially available nutraceutical formulations. The component cyanidin glucosides, including cyanidin-3-sambubioside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside and the aglycone cyanidin were readily detected in a range of sources. Quantitation was achieved by establishing a calibration plot from dilutions of a stock solution of cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside containing malvidin-3,5-diglucoside as an internal standard at a fixed concentration. The same standard was used to quantify the anthocyanin content in the fruit and nutraceutical formulations. Wide 5-fold variations in anthocyanin concentration were detected in the nutraceutical formulations from different suppliers ranging from 1050 to 5430 mg/100g. These concentrations compared with 500 to 2370 mg/100g measured in the dried stems and fruit respectively

Molecular basis of influenza hemagglutinin inhibition with an entry-blocker peptide by computational docking and mass spectrometry

Background The increased resistance of circulating strains to current antiviral inhibitors of the influenza virus necessitates that new antivirals and their mode of action are identified. Influenza hemagglutinin is an ideal target given inhibitors of its function can block the entry of the virus into host cells during the early stages of replication. This article describes the molecular basis for the inhibition of H1 and H5 hemagglutinin by an entry-blocker peptide using companion molecular docking and mass spectrometry-based experiments.Methods A combination of hemagglutination inhibition assays, computational molecular docking and a novel mass spectrometry-based approach are employed to explore the mode of action of the entry-blocker peptide at a molecular level.Results The entry-blocker peptide is shown to be able to maximally inhibit blood cell hemagglutination at a concentration of between 6.4 and 9.2 µM. The molecular basis for this inhibition is derived from the binding of the peptide to hemagglutinin in the vicinity of the reported sialic acid binding site surrounded by an α-helix (190-helix) and two loop (130-loop and 220-loop) regions in the case of a H1 hemagglutinin and the second loop region in the case of a H5 hemagglutinin.Conclusions The results support the recognized potential of the entry-blocker peptide as an effective antiviral agent that can inhibit the early stages of viral replication and further illustrate the power of a combination of docking and a mass spectrometry approach to screen the molecular basis of new antiviral inhibitors to the influenza virus

FluTyper-an algorithm for automated typing and subtyping of the influenza virus from high resolution mass spectral data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High resolution mass spectrometry has been employed to rapidly and accurately type and subtype influenza viruses. The detection of signature peptides with unique theoretical masses enables the unequivocal assignment of the type and subtype of a given strain. This analysis has, to date, required the manual inspection of mass spectra of whole virus and antigen digests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A computer algorithm, FluTyper, has been designed and implemented to achieve the automated analysis of MALDI mass spectra recorded for proteolytic digests of the whole influenza virus and antigens. FluTyper incorporates the use of established signature peptides and newly developed naïve Bayes classifiers for four common influenza antigens, hemagglutinin, neuraminidase, nucleoprotein, and matrix protein 1, to type and subtype the influenza virus based on their detection within proteolytic peptide mass maps. Theoretical and experimental testing of the classifiers demonstrates their applicability at protein coverage rates normally achievable in mass mapping experiments. The application of FluTyper to whole virus and antigen digests of a range of different strains of the influenza virus is demonstrated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>FluTyper algorithm facilitates the rapid and automated typing and subtyping of the influenza virus from mass spectral data. The newly developed naïve Bayes classifiers increase the confidence of influenza virus subtyping, especially where signature peptides are not detected. FluTyper is expected to popularize the use of mass spectrometry to characterize influenza viruses.</p