Jonathan M. Dilger

Using Ion Mobility Data to Improve Peptide Identification: Intrinsic Amino Acid Size Parameters

A new method for enhancing peptide ion identification in proteomics analyses using ion mobility data is presented. Ideally, direct comparisons of experimental drift times (t(D)) with a standard mobility database could be used to rank candidate peptide sequence assignments. Such a database would represent only a fraction of sequences in protein databases and significant difficulties associated with the verification of data for constituent peptide ions would exist. A method that employs intrinsic amino acid size parameters to obtain ion mobility predictions that can be used to rank candidate peptide ion assignments is proposed. Intrinsic amino acid size parameters have been determined for doubly charged peptide ions from an annotated yeast proteome. Predictions of ion mobilities using the intrinsic size parameters are more accurate than those obtained from a polynomial fit to t(D) versus molecular weight data. More than a 2-fold improvement in prediction accuracy has been observed for a group of arginine-terminated peptide ions 12 residues in length. The use of this predictive enhancement as a means to aid peptide ion identification is discussed, and a simple peptide ion scoring scheme is presented.

A Database of Alkaline-Earth-Coordinated Peptide Cross Sections: Insight into General Aspects of Structure

AbstractA database of 1470 collision cross sections (666 doubly- and 804 triply-charged) of alkaline-earth-coordinated tryptic peptide ions [where the cation (M2+) correspond to Mg2+, Ca2+, or Ba2+] is presented. The utility of such an extensive set of measurements is illustrated by extraction of general properties of M2+-coordinated peptide structures. Specifically, we derive sets of intrinsic size parameters (ISPs) for individual amino acid residues for M2+-coordinated peptides. Comparison of these parameters with existing ISPs for protonated peptides suggests that M2+ binding occurs primarily through interactions with specific polar aliphatic residues (Asp, Ser, and Thr) and the peptide backbone. A comparison of binding interactions for these alkaline-earth metals with interactions reported previously for alkali metals is provided. Finally, we describe a new analysis in which ISPs are used as probes for assessing peptide structure based on amino acid composition.

Examining the Influence of Phosphorylation on Peptide Ion Structure by Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry

AbstractIon mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) techniques are used to study the general effects of phosphorylation on peptide structure. Cross sections for a library of 66 singly phosphorylated peptide ions from 33 pairs of positional isomers, and unmodified analogues were measured. Intrinsic size parameters (ISPs) derived from these measurements yield calculated collision cross sections for 85% of these phosphopeptide sequences that are within ±2.5% of experimental values. The average ISP for the phosphoryl group (0.64 ± 0.05) suggests that in general this moiety forms intramolecular interactions with the neighboring residues and peptide backbone, resulting in relatively compact structures. We assess the capability of ion mobility to separate positional isomers (i.e., peptide sequences that differ only in the location of the modification) and find that more than half of the isomeric pairs have >1% difference in collision cross section. Phosphorylation is also found to influence populations of structures that differ in the cis/trans orientation of Xaa–Pro peptide bonds. Several sequences with phosphorylated Ser or Thr residues located N-terminally adjacent to Pro residues show fewer conformations compared to the unmodified sequences. Graphical Abstractᅟ

Resolution of Stepwise Cooperativities of Copper Binding by the Homotetrameric Copper‐Sensitive Operon Repressor (CsoR): Impact on Structure and Stability

The cooperativity of ligand binding is central to biological regulation and new approaches are needed to quantify these allosteric relationships. Herein, we exploit a suite of mass spectrometry (MS) experiments to provide novel insights into homotropic Cu-binding cooperativity, gas-phase stabilities and conformational ensembles of the D2 -symmetric, homotetrameric copper-sensitive operon repressor (CsoR) as a function of Cu(I) ligation state. Cu(I) binding is overall positively cooperative, but is characterized by distinct ligation state-specific cooperativities. Structural transitions occur upon binding the first and fourth Cu(I) , with the latter occurring with significantly higher cooperativity than previous steps; this results in the formation of a holo-tetramer that is markedly more resistant than apo-, and partially ligated CsoR tetramers toward surface-induced dissociation (SID).

Isotope Labeling Study of Retinal Chromophore Fragmentation

Previous studies have shown that the gas-phase fragmentation of the retinal chromophore after S0-S1 photoexcitation results in a prominent fragment of mass 248 which cannot be explained by the cleavage of any single bond along the polyene chain. It was therefore theorized that the fragmentation mechanism involves a series of isomerizations and cyclization processes, and two mechanisms for these processes were suggested. Here we used isotope labeling MS-MS to provide conclusive support for the fragmentation mechanism suggested by Coughlan et al. (J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2014, 5, 3195).

Measurements of the stabilities of isolated retinal chromophores

The barrier energies for isomerization and fragmentation were measured for a series of retinal chromophore derivatives using a tandem ion mobility spectrometry approach. These measurements allow us to quantify the effect of charge delocalization on the rigidity of chromophores. We find that the role of the methyl group on the C13 position is pivotal regarding the ground state dynamics of the chromophore. Additionally, a correlation between quasi-equilibrium isomer distribution and fragmentation pathways is observed.

A Database of Transition-Metal-Coordinated Peptide Cross-Sections: Selective Interaction with Specific Amino Acid Residues

AbstractIon mobility mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) techniques were used to generate a database of 2288 collision cross sections of transition-metal-coordinated tryptic peptide ions. This database consists of cross sections for 1253 [Pep + X]2+ and 1035 [Pep + X + H]3+, where X2+ corresponds to Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, or Zn2+. This number of measurements enables the extraction of structural trends for transition-metal-coordinated peptide ions. The range of structures and changes in collision cross sections for X2+-coordinated species (compared with protonated species of the same charge state) is similar to Mg2+-coordinated species. This suggests that the structures are largely determined by similarities in cation size with differences among the cross section distributions presumably caused by X2+ interactions with specific functional groups offered by the residue R-groups or the peptide backbone. Cross section contributions for individual residues upon X2+ solvation are assessed with the derivation of intrinsic size parameters (ISPs). The comparison of the [Pep + X]2+ ISPs with those previously reported for [Pep + Mg]2+ ions displays a lower contribution to the cross section for His, carboxyamidomethylated Cys, and Met, and is consistent with specific metal-residue interactions identified within protein X-ray crystallography databases. Graphical Abstractᅟ

Action and Ion Mobility Spectroscopy of a Shortened Retinal Derivative

AbstractThe development of tandem ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) known as IMS-IMS has led to extensive research into isomerizations of isolated molecules. Many recent works have focused on the retinal chromophore which is the optical switch used in animal vision. Here, we study a shortened derivative of the chromophore, which exhibits a rich IM spectrum allowing for a detailed analysis of its isomerization pathways, and show that the longer the chromophore is, the lower the barrier energies for isomerization are. Graphical Abstract

Direct Measurement of the Isomerization Barrier of the Isolated Retinal Chromophore

Energy barrier Heights for isomerization of the isolated retinal chromophore were measured using two stages of ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS-IMS).