Margaret M. Sheil

Novel protein modification by kynurenine in human lenses

It is known that human lenses increase in color and fluorescence with age, but the molecular basis for this is not well understood. We demonstrate here that proteins isolated from human lenses contain significant levels of the UV filter kynurenine covalently bound to histidine and lysine residues. Identification was confirmed by synthesis of the kynurenine amino acid adducts and comparison of the chromatographic retention times and mass spectra of these authentic standards with those of corresponding adducts isolated from human lenses following acid hydrolysis. Using calf lens proteins as a model, covalent binding of kynurenine to lens proteins has been shown to proceed via side chain deamination in a manner analogous to that observed for the related UV filter, 3-hydroxykynurenineO-β-d-glucoside. Levels of histidylkynurenine and lysylkynurenine were low in human lenses in subjects younger than 30, but thereafter increased in concentration with the age of the individual. Post-translational modification of lens proteins by tryptophan metabolites therefore appears to be responsible, at least in part, for the age-dependent increase in coloration and fluorescence of the human lens, and this process may also be important in other tissues in which up-regulation of tryptophan catabolism occurs.

Characterisation of the major autoxidation products of 3-hydroxykynurenine under physiological conditions

3-Hydroxykynurenine (3-OHKyn) is a tryptophan metabolite that is readily autoxidised to products that may be involved in protein modification and cytotoxicity. The oxidation of 3-OHKyn has been studied here with a view to characterising the major products as well as determining their relative rates of formation and the role that H2O2 and hydroxyl radical (HO·) may play in modifying the autoxidation process. Oxidation of 3-OHKyn generated several compounds. Xanthommatin (Xan), formed by the oxidative dimerisation of 3-OHKyn, was the major product formed initially. It was, however, found to be unstable, particularly in the presence of H2O2, and degraded to other products including the p-quinone, 4,6-dihydroxyquinolinequinonecarboxylic acid (DHQCA). A compound that has a structure consistent with that of hydroxy-xanthommatin (OHXan) was also formed in addition to at least two minor species that we were unable to identify. Hydrogen peroxide was formed rapidly upon oxidation of 3-OHKyn, and significantly influenced the relative abundance of the different autoxidation species. Increasing either pH (from pH 6 to 8) or temperature (from 25°C to 35°C) accelerated the rate of autoxidation but had little impact on the relative abundance of the autoxidation species. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, a clear phenoxyl radical signal was observed during 3-OHKyn autoxidation and this was attributed to xanthommatin radical (Xan·). Hydroxyl radicals were also produced during 3-OHKyn autoxidation. The HO· EPR signal disappeared and the Xan· EPR signal increased when catalase was added to the autoxidation mixture. The HO· did not appear to play a role in the formation of the autoxidation products as evidenced using HO· traps/scavengers. We propose that the cytotoxicity of 3-OHKyn may be explained by both the generation of H2O2 and by the formation of reactive 3-OHKyn autoxidation products such as the Xan· and DHQCA.

Structural identification of valine hydroperoxides and hydroxides on radical-damaged amino acid, peptide, and protein molecules

We have previously demonstrated the formation of two reactive moieties on proteins during free radical attack: hydroperoxides, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). Here we have undertaken the structural elucidation of the hydroperoxides of valine, the amino acid which is most susceptible to peroxidation. Exposure of L-valine to free radicals generated by radiolysis in an oxygen-saturated system produced three valine hydroperoxides. Upon treatment with sodium borohydride these were reduced to their corresponding hydroxides, which can be separated and purified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Based on spectroscopic data from high resolution chemical ionization (CI) mass spectrometry (MS), electrospray (ES) MS, electron impact (EI) MS, proton (1H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and carbon-13 (13C) NMR studies, the three valine hydroxides have been identified as beta-hydroxyvaline [(2S)-2-amino-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-butanoic acid], (2S,3S)-gamma-hydroxyvaline [(2S,3S)-2-amino-3-hydroxymethyl-butanoic acid], and (2S,3R)-gamma-hydroxyvaline [(2S,3R)-2-amino-3-hydroxymethyl-butanoic acid]. HPLC analysis of O-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) derivatives of the hydroxyvalines provides a sensitive and accurate method for quantitative measurement. This method enabled hydroxyvalines to be detected in the hydrolysates of a tripeptide (glutamyl-valinyl-phenylalanine) and a protein (bovine serum albumin) that had been gamma-radiolysed and treated with sodium borohydride. Hydroxyvaline may be useful as a marker in studying protein oxidation in some biological systems under oxidative stress.

Probing the effects of cone potential in the electrospray ion source: consequences for the determination of molecular weight distributions of synthetic polymers.

Shifts in the relative intensities of oligomer ions are found to accompany changes in the cone potential in the electrospray ion source, which introduce uncertainties into average molecular weight determinations for polymer distributions. Similar shifts with changes in cone potential have long been recognized in the multiple-charge distributions of proteins and other biomolecules. In the case of multiple-charge distributions of a single, or small number of, species there are no major consequences for calculation of molecular weight; however, mass distributions and the averages thereof, are of major concern with synthetic polymers and understanding the shifts in relative intensities becomes critically important. We report here an evaluation of the effects of cone potentials on the molecular weight distributions of synthetic polymers, which we compare with the effects on charge-state distributions of peptides. The effects of cone potential have been modeled mathematically, from which we conclude that cone potentials exert a focusing effect dependent on the mass-to-charge ratios of ions. It is largely this focusing effect that determines the dependence of oligomer ion intensities upon cone potential in the ESI mass spectra of polymers. The influence of cone potential on molecular weight determinations of polymers of varying polydispersities (P(o)) is compared and discussed. For polymers with low polydispersities (e.g., narrow molecular weight poly(ethyleneglycol) standards with P(o) < 1.5), the variation in molecular weight determinations tends to be small (typically <5%), whereas with synthetic polymers with polydispersities greater than 2, variations in cone potential can influence molecular weight determinations significantly (by 100% or even more).

Use of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to study binding interactions between a replication terminator protein and DNA

Tus protein binds tightly to specific DNA sequences (Ter) on the Escherichia coli chromosome halting replication. We report here conditions for detecting the 1 : 1 Tus–Ter complex by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). ESI mass spectra of a mixture of Tus and nonspecific DNA showed ions predominantly from uncomplexed Tus protein, indicating that the Tus–Ter complex observed in the gas phase was the result of a specific interaction rather than nonspecific associations in the ionization source. The Tus–Ter complex was very stable using a spray solvent of 10 mM ammonium acetate at pH 8.0, and initial attempts to distinguish binding affinities of Tus and mutant Tus proteins for Ter DNA were unsuccessful. Increasing the ammonium acetate concentration in the electrospray solvent (800 mM at pH 8.0) increased the dissociation constants sufficiently such that relative orders of binding affinity for Tus and various mutant Tus proteins for various DNA sequences could be determined. These were in agreement with the dissociation constants determined in solution studies. A dissociation constant of 700 × 10−9 M for the binding of the mutant Tus protein A173T (where residue 173 is changed from alanine to threonine) to Ter DNA was estimated, compared with a value of ≤2 × 10−9 M for Tus where A173 was unchanged. This is the first example in which ESI‐MS has been used to compare binding affinities of a DNA‐binding protein with mutant proteins for specific DNA recognition sequences. It was also possible to estimate the strength of the interaction between Tus and a DNA sequence (TerH) that had been identified by database searching.

A new UV-filter compound in human lenses

A new UV‐filter compound, 4‐(2‐amino‐3‐hydroxyphenyl)‐4‐oxobutanoic acid O‐glucoside, has been identified in human lenses. The structure suggests that it is derived biosynthetically from tryptophan. Quantification studies on the new compound show that it is the second‐most abundant UV‐filter compound in the lens with an absorption and fluorescence spectrum similar to that of 3‐hydroxykynurenine glucoside.

Comparison of electrospray mass spectrometry with other soft ionization techniques for the characterisation of cationic π-hydrocarbon organometallic complexes

Abstract Electrospray (ES) mass spectrometry provides a convenient method for the characterisation of a wide range of π-hydrocarbon complex salts of the general types [FeCp(η-arene)]BF 4 , [M(CO) 3 (η-C 7 H 7 )BF 4 (MCr, Mo, W), [Fe(CO) 2 L ( η 5 -dienyl)]BF 4 L  CO or PPh 3 ; dienyl  C 6 H 7 , 2-MeOC 6 H 6 , or C 7 H 9 ), [CpFe(CO) 3 ] PF 6 and [CpFe(CO) 2 ( η -C 2 H 4 )]BF 4 . At low skimmer voltages (20 V), principal (molecular) ions are generally the only observed species. For the arene complexes, [FeCp( η -arene)]BF 4 , high skimmer voltages (80–135 V) are required before fragmentation is observed. However, for the carbonyl containing cations, moderate skimmer voltages (40–55 V) also give rise to [MCO] + ,[M2CO] + and [M3CO] + ions. Very similar behaviour is observed with phosphonium and imidazolium adducts of the type [Fe(CO) 3 (η 4 -diene. Nuc)] + ( diene  C 6 H 7 or C 7 H 9 ; Nuc PPh 3 or Im) and [CpFe(CO) 2 ( η 1 -C 2 H 4 ·PPh 3 )] + . comparison with fast atom bombardment (FAB) and field desorption (FD) mass spectra for the same complex salts indicates that fragmentation decreases along the series FAB > ES > FD, and that ES mass spectrometry is the most convenient and informative of the three soft ionization techniques.

A spectroscopic study of glycated bovine α-crystallin: investigation of flexibility of the C-terminal extension, chaperone activity and evidence for diglycation

The effect of glycating the C-terminal extensions of alpha-crystallin on their flexibility was investigated. In the course of the study the reaction sites were identified and double glycation of single lysine residues was found. Alpha-crystallin was incubated until approximately one mole of the sugar had reacted per subunit of the crystallin. The reaction sites were investigated by mass spectrometry and H NMR spectroscopy, and were found to be principally in the short and flexible C-terminal extensions. The chaperone ability of alpha-crystallin was unaffected by this limited glycation. There was little effect on the flexibility of the C-terminal extensions. This result supports the view that the flexibility of the C-terminal extensions of alpha-crystallin is important for chaperone activity. As alpha-crystallin consists of a mixture of unmodified and phosphorylated subunits, a detailed investigation was undertaken of the reaction of galactose with peptides comprising the C-terminal extensions of alphaA- and alphaB-crystallin. The alphaA peptide was incubated with galactose until 0.79 mole of sugar was bound per mole of peptide and the alphaB peptide reacted until 2.2 moles of galactose had been incorporated. The purified glycated peptides were examined by NMR and mass spectrometry to identify glycation site(s), and the effect of glycation on the conformation of the peptides. For both peptides, it was found that extensive glycation of the constituent lysine residues occurred. The addition of two galactose molecules to some lysine residues of the peptides was also noted. This diglycation was confirmed in control experiments with N-acetyl-lysine.

Application of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to study the hydrophobic interaction between the ε and θ subunits of DNA polymerase III

The interactions between the N‐terminal domain of the ε (ε186) and θ subunits of DNA polymerase III of Escherichia coli were investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The ε186–θ complex was stable in 9 M ammonium actetate (pH 8), suggesting that hydrophobic interactions have a predominant contribution to the stability of the complex. Addition of primary alkanols to ε186–θ in 0.1 M ammonium acetate (pH 8), led to dissociation of the complex, as observed in the mass spectrometer. The concentrations of methanol, ethanol, and 1‐propanol required to dissociate 50% of the complex were 8.9 M, 4.8 M, and 1.7 M, respectively. Closer scrutiny of the effect of alkanols on ε186, θ, and ε186–θ showed that ε186 formed soluble aggregates prior to precipitation, and that the association of ε186 with θ stabilized ε186. In‐source collision‐induced dissociation experiments and other results suggested that the ε186–θ complex dissociated in the mass spectrometer, and that the stability (with respect to dissociation) of the complex in vacuo was dependent on the solution from which it was sampled.

A study of kynurenine fragmentation using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A combination of accurate mass measurement and tandem mass spectrometry (both product ion and precursor ion scans) have been used to characterize the major fragment ions observed in the ESI mass spectrum of kynurenine. Kynurenine is a metabolite of tryptophan found in the human lens and is thought to play a role in protecting the retina from UV-induced damage. Three major fragmentation pathways were evident, following initial elimination either of ammonia, H2O and CO or the imine form of glycine. The latter is proposed to occur via the formation of an ion-molecule complex. In the case of loss of H2O and CO from deaminated kynurenine, there is evidence for an acylium ion intermediate, which is not observed for the loss of H2O and CO directly from protonated kynurenine. Product ion scans of deuterated kynurenine enabled the elucidation of structural rearrangements that were not evident in the spectra of the native compound. Since UV filter compounds can often only be isolated in small quantities from the lens, this study forms the basis for the characterization of novel UV filter compounds using mass spectrometry. The approach presented here may also be useful for the characterization of related classes of small molecules.