Identification and validation of eukaryotic aspartate and glutamate methylation in proteins

J Proteome Res. 2008 Mar;7(3):1001-6. doi: 10.1021/pr0705338. Epub 2008 Jan 26.

Abstract

Methylation of lysine and arginine is known to be critical in cellular processes. However, methylation of other amino acidic residues has been largely overlooked. Here, we report a systematic screening for methylation of side chains of aspartate and glutamate (D/E-methylation), involving exhaustive nano-HPLC/MS/MS, a protein sequence database search, and manual verification. The putative D/E-methylated peptides were confirmed by MS/MS of synthetic peptides. Our analysis identified several D/E-methylation substrate proteins and their modification sites in human and yeast cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report conclusively identifying in vivo D/E-methylation substrates and their modification sites in eukaryotic cells, demonstrating that D/E-methylations are abundant protein modifications. The substrate proteins identified here provide a stepping stone for future biochemical characterization of protein methylation pathways.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Aspartic Acid / metabolism*
  • Glutamic Acid / metabolism*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Methylation
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Proteins / chemistry
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Proteomics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Aspartic Acid
  • Glutamic Acid