Spatially-Resolved Exploration of the Mouse Brain Glycome by Tissue Glyco-Capture (TGC) and Nano-LC/MS

Tissue glyco-capture (TGC), a highly sensitive MS-compatible method for extraction of glycans from tissue, was combined with structure-specific nano-LC/MS for sensitive and detailed profiling of the mouse brain glycome. Hundreds of glycan structures were directly detected by accurate mass MS and structurally elucidated by MS/MS, revealing the presence of novel glycan motifs such as antennary fucosylation, sulfation, and glucuronidation that are potentially associated with cellular signaling and adhesion. Microgram-level sensitivity enabled glycomic analysis of specific regions of the brain, as demonstrated on not only brain sections (with a one-dimensional spatial resolution of 20 μm) but also isolated brain structures (e.g., the hippocampus). Reproducibility was extraordinarily high (<i>R</i> > 0.98) for both method and instrumental replicates. The pairing of TGC with structure-specific nano-LC/MS was found to be an exceptionally powerful platform for qualitative and quantitative exploration of the brain glycome

Characterization of Site-Specific <i>N</i>‑Glycopeptide Isoforms of α‑1-Acid Glycoprotein from an Interlaboratory Study Using LC–MS/MS

Glycoprotein conformations are complex and heterogeneous. Currently, site-specific characterization of glycopeptides is a challenge. We sought to establish an efficient method of <i>N</i>-glycoprotein characterization using mass spectrometry (MS). Using alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) as a model <i>N</i>-glycoprotein, we identified its tryptic <i>N</i>-glycopeptides and examined the data reproducibility in seven laboratories running different LC–MS/MS platforms. We used three test samples and one blind sample to evaluate instrument performance with entire sample preparation workflow. 165 site-specific <i>N</i>-glycopeptides representative of all <i>N</i>-glycosylation sites were identified from AGP 1 and AGP 2 isoforms. The glycopeptide fragmentations by collision-induced dissociation or higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD) varied based on the MS analyzer. Orbitrap Elite identified the greatest number of AGP <i>N</i>-glycopeptides, followed by Triple TOF and Q-Exactive Plus. Reproducible generation of oxonium ions, glycan-cleaved glycopeptide fragment ions, and peptide backbone fragment ions was essential for successful identification. Laboratory proficiency affected the number of identified <i>N</i>-glycopeptides. The relative quantities of the 10 major <i>N</i>-glycopeptide isoforms of AGP detected in four laboratories were compared to assess reproducibility. Quantitative analysis showed that the coefficient of variation was <25% for all test samples. Our analytical protocol yielded identification and quantification of site-specific <i>N</i>-glycopeptide isoforms of AGP from control and disease plasma sample