Transglutaminase-mediated PEGylation of proteins: direct identification of the sites of protein modification by mass spectrometry using a novel monodisperse PEG

Bioconjug Chem. 2009 Feb;20(2):384-9. doi: 10.1021/bc800427n.

Abstract

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been widely used to prolong the residence time of proteins in blood and to decrease their immunogenicity and antigenicity. A drawback of this polymer lies in its polydispersity that makes difficult the identification of the sites of protein modification. This is a mandatory requirement if a PEGylated protein should be approved as a drug. Here, a fast and reliable method is proposed to characterize proteins conjugated at the level of glutamine (Gln) residues using microbial transglutaminase (TGase). The novelty resides in the use of a monodisperse Boc-PEG-NH(2) for the derivatization that allows the direct identification of the sites of PEGylation by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The procedure has been tested on three model proteins, namely, human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, human growth hormone, and horse heart apomyoglobin. The Gln residues linked to the polymer chain were easily identified by ESI-MS and tandem MS analyses, demonstrating the advantage of using a monodisperse polymer in combination with mass spectrometry for an easy characterization of conjugated proteins. Interestingly, the PEGylation reaction led to the production only of mono- and bis-derivative products, indicating that the TGase-mediated PEGylation can be extremely selective and thus very useful for the derivatization of protein drugs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry*
  • Polyethylene Glycols / metabolism
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Streptomyces / enzymology*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Transglutaminases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Transglutaminases