Multistage Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry To Characterize Single Amino Acid Variants of Human Mitochondrial BCAT2

Anal Chem. 2018 Aug 21;90(16):9904-9911. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b02099. Epub 2018 Aug 1.

Abstract

Unraveling disease mechanisms requires a comprehensive understanding of how the interplay between higher-order structure and protein-ligand interactions impacts the function of a given protein. Recent advances in native mass spectrometry (MS) involving multimodal or higher-energy activation methods have allowed direct interrogation of intact protein complexes in the gas phase, allowing analysis of both composition and subunit connectivity. We report a multistage approach combining collisional activation and 193 nm ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) to characterize single amino acid variants of the human mitochondrial enzyme branched-chain amino acid transferase 2 (BCAT2), a protein implicated in chemotherapeutic resistance in glioblastoma tumors. Native electrospray ionization confirms that both proteins exist as homodimers. Front-end collisional activation disassembles the dimers into monomeric subunits that are further interrogated using UVPD to yield high sequence coverage of the mutated region. Additionally, holo (ligand-bound) fragment ions resulting from photodissociation reveal that the mutation causes destabilization of the interactions with a bound cofactor. This study demonstrates the unique advantages of implementing UVPD in a multistage MS approach for analyzing intact protein assemblies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution*
  • Binding Sites
  • Humans
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Minor Histocompatibility Antigens / chemistry*
  • Minor Histocompatibility Antigens / genetics
  • Mitochondrial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Mitochondrial Proteins / genetics
  • Mutation
  • Pregnancy Proteins / chemistry*
  • Pregnancy Proteins / genetics
  • Pyridoxal Phosphate / chemistry
  • Transaminases / chemistry*
  • Transaminases / genetics
  • Ultraviolet Rays

Substances

  • Minor Histocompatibility Antigens
  • Mitochondrial Proteins
  • Pregnancy Proteins
  • Pyridoxal Phosphate
  • Transaminases
  • BCAT2 protein, human