Phillip A. Wilmarth

The R109H variant of fascin-2, a developmentally regulated actin crosslinker in hair-cell stereocilia, underlies early-onset hearing loss of DBA/2J mice

The quantitative trait locus ahl8 is a key contributor to the early-onset, age-related hearing loss of DBA/2J mice. A nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution in the mouse fascin-2 gene (Fscn2) is responsible for this phenotype, confirmed by wild-type BAC transgene rescue of hearing loss in DBA/2J mice. In chickens and mice, FSCN2 protein is abundant in hair-cell stereocilia, the actin-rich structures comprising the mechanically sensitive hair bundle, and is concentrated toward stereocilia tips of the bundles longest stereocilia. FSCN2 expression increases when these stereocilia differentially elongate, suggesting that FSCN2 controls filament growth, stiffens exposed stereocilia, or both. Because ahl8 accelerates hearing loss only in the presence of mutant cadherin 23, a component of hair-cell tip links, mechanotransduction and actin crosslinking must be functionally interrelated.

Molecular architecture of the chick vestibular hair bundle

Hair bundles of the inner ear have a specialized structure and protein composition that underlies their sensitivity to mechanical stimulation. Using mass spectrometry, we identified and quantified >1,100 proteins, present from a few to 400,000 copies per stereocilium, from purified chick bundles; 336 of these were significantly enriched in bundles. Bundle proteins that we detected have been shown to regulate cytoskeleton structure and dynamics, energy metabolism, phospholipid synthesis and cell signaling. Three-dimensional imaging using electron tomography allowed us to count the number of actin-actin cross-linkers and actin-membrane connectors; these values compared well to those obtained from mass spectrometry. Network analysis revealed several hub proteins, including RDX (radixin) and SLC9A3R2 (NHERF2), which interact with many bundle proteins and may perform functions essential for bundle structure and function. The quantitative mass spectrometry of bundle proteins reported here establishes a framework for future characterization of dynamic processes that shape bundle structure and function.

Role of the retinal vascular endothelial cell in ocular disease

Retinal endothelial cells line the arborizing microvasculature that supplies and drains the neural retina. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of these endothelial cells are consistent with nutritional requirements and protection of a tissue critical to vision. On the one hand, the endothelium must ensure the supply of oxygen and other nutrients to the metabolically active retina, and allow access to circulating cells that maintain the vasculature or survey the retina for the presence of potential pathogens. On the other hand, the endothelium contributes to the blood-retinal barrier that protects the retina by excluding circulating molecular toxins, microorganisms, and pro-inflammatory leukocytes. Features required to fulfill these functions may also predispose to disease processes, such as retinal vascular leakage and neovascularization, and trafficking of microbes and inflammatory cells. Thus, the retinal endothelial cell is a key participant in retinal ischemic vasculopathies that include diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity, and retinal inflammation or infection, as occurs in posterior uveitis. Using gene expression and proteomic profiling, it has been possible to explore the molecular phenotype of the human retinal endothelial cell and contribute to understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases. In addition to providing support for the involvement of well-characterized endothelial molecules, profiling has the power to identify new players in retinal pathologies. Findings may have implications for the design of new biological therapies. Additional progress in this field is anticipated as other technologies, including epigenetic profiling methods, whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing, and metabolomics, are used to study the human retinal endothelial cell.

Techniques for accurate protein identification in shotgun proteomic studies of human, mouse, bovine, and chicken lenses

Analysis of shotgun proteomics datasets requires techniques to distinguish correct peptide identifications from incorrect identifications, such as linear discriminant functions and target/decoy protein databases. We report an efficient, flexible proteomic analysis workflow pipeline that implements these techniques to control both peptide and protein false discovery rates. We demonstrate its performance by analyzing two-dimensional liquid chromatography separations of lens proteins from human, mouse, bovine, and chicken lenses. We compared the use of International Protein Index databases to UniProt databases and no-enzyme SEQUEST searches to tryptic searches. Sequences present in the International Protein Index databases allowed detection of several novel crystallins. An alternate start codon isoform of βA4 was found in human lens. The minor crystallin γN was detected for the first time in bovine and chicken lenses. Chicken γS was identified and is the first member of the γ-crystallin family observed in avian lenses.

Accurate label-free protein quantitation with high- and low-resolution mass spectrometers.

Label-free quantitation of proteins analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry uses either integrated peak intensity from the parent-ion mass analysis (MS1) or features from fragment-ion analysis (MS2), such as spectral counts or summed fragment-ion intensity. We directly compared MS1 and MS2 quantitation by analyzing human protein standards diluted into Escherichia coli extracts on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer. We found that summed MS2 intensities were nearly as accurate as integrated MS1 intensities, and both outperformed MS2 spectral counting in accuracy and linearity. We compared these results to those obtained from two low-resolution ion-trap mass spectrometers; summed MS2 intensities from LTQ and LTQ Velos instruments were similar in accuracy to those from the Orbitrap. Data from all three instruments are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000602. Abundance measurements using MS1 or MS2 intensities had limitations, however. While measured protein concentration was on average well-correlated with the known concentration, there was considerable protein-to-protein variation. Moreover, not all human proteins diluted to a mole fraction of 10(-3) or lower were detected, with a strong falloff below 10(-4) mole fraction. These results show that MS1 and MS2 intensities are simple measures of protein abundance that are on average accurate but should be limited to quantitation of proteins of intermediate to higher fractional abundance.

Comparative profiling of highly enriched 22L and Chandler mouse scrapie prion protein preparations

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases are characterized by the accumulation of an aggregated isoform of the prion protein (PrP). This pathological isoform, termed PrPSc, appears to be the primary component of the TSE infectious agent or prion. However, it is not clear to what extent other protein cofactors may be involved in TSE pathogenesis or whether there are PrPSc‐associated proteins which help to determine TSE strain‐specific disease phenotypes. We enriched PrPSc from the brains of mice infected with either 22L or Chandler TSE strains and examined the protein content of these samples using nanospray LC‐MS/MS. These samples were compared with “mock” PrPSc preparations from uninfected brains. PrP was the major component of the infected samples and ferritin was the most abundant impurity. Mock enrichments contained no detectable PrP but did contain a significant amount of ferritin. Of the total proteins identified, 32% were found in both mock and infected samples. The similarities between PrPSc samples from 22L and Chandler TSE strains suggest that the non‐PrPSc protein components found in standard enrichment protocols are not strain specific.

Metabolic Reprogramming during Purine Stress in the Protozoan Pathogen Leishmania donovani

The ability of Leishmania to survive in their insect or mammalian host is dependent upon an ability to sense and adapt to changes in the microenvironment. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the parasite response to environmental changes, such as nutrient availability. To elucidate nutrient stress response pathways in Leishmania donovani, we have used purine starvation as the paradigm. The salvage of purines from the host milieu is obligatory for parasite replication; nevertheless, purine-starved parasites can persist in culture without supplementary purine for over three months, indicating that the response to purine starvation is robust and engenders parasite survival under conditions of extreme scarcity. To understand metabolic reprogramming during purine starvation we have employed global approaches. Whole proteome comparisons between purine-starved and purine-replete parasites over a 6–48 h span have revealed a temporal and coordinated response to purine starvation. Purine transporters and enzymes involved in acquisition at the cell surface are upregulated within a few hours of purine removal from the media, while other key purine salvage components are upregulated later in the time-course and more modestly. After 48 h, the proteome of purine-starved parasites is extensively remodeled and adaptations to purine stress appear tailored to deal with both purine deprivation and general stress. To probe the molecular mechanisms affecting proteome remodeling in response to purine starvation, comparative RNA-seq analyses, qRT-PCR, and luciferase reporter assays were performed on purine-starved versus purine-replete parasites. While the regulation of a minority of proteins tracked with changes at the mRNA level, for many regulated proteins it appears that proteome remodeling during purine stress occurs primarily via translational and/or post-translational mechanisms.

Quantification of Isotopically Overlapping Deamidated and 18O-Labeled Peptides Using Isotopic Envelope Mixture Modeling

A robust peptide quantification method was developed where overlapping peptide isotopic distributions were fit with predicted peptide isotopic envelope mixture models (IEMMs). Application to two difficult quantitative problems was demonstrated. The first was the quantification of deamidation, where masses of isotopic peaks differ by 1 Da, and the second was (18)O labeling, where the isotopic peaks are shifted 2 and 4 Da. In both cases, peptide quantification cannot be performed by simple integration of extracted ion chromatograms, because the isotopic envelopes of mass-shifted peptides are normally not resolved. To test the methodology for quantification of deamidation, several synthetic peptides and their corresponding deamidated forms were mixed at various ratios (1:0, 1:2, 2:1, 4:1, 10:1, and 20:1) and analyzed using the IEMM method, resulting in a high correlation (R(2) = 0.96) between measured and known percentages of deamidation. The IEMM method was then incorporated into a workflow for deamidation quantification in a large-scale proteomics experiment. A series of normal (3 day, 2 year, 35 year, and 70 year) and cataractous (93 year) human lenses were analyzed using two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and deamidation quantities of several gammaS-crystallin peptides ([N14-Q16], N53, [Q63-Q70], and N143) were determined. Two peptides (N53 and [Q63-Q70]) had more extensive deamidation in the water-insoluble portions of normal lens samples, and deamidation at N143 was more extensive in the 93 year water-insoluble cataractous sample. The utility of the technique for analysis of (18)O-labeled peptides was examined using mixtures of labeled BSA peptides in known (16)O/(18)O ratios (10:1, 4:1, 1:1, 1:4, and 1:10). The methodology allowed for accurate measurements of ratios of (16)O/(18)O peptides over the wide range of relative abundances.

Susceptibility of Ovine Lens Crystallins to Proteolytic Cleavage during Formation of Hereditary Cataract

PURPOSE To produce two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) maps for ovine crystallins and examine changes in ovine crystallins during cataract formation. METHODS Soluble and insoluble fractions were isolated from normal, whole lenses of 26-week-old sheep, the proteins separated by 2-DE, and the spots digested with trypsin and subjected to tandem mass spectral analysis. Spot identifications were made by using mass spectrometry data from each spot digestion and data from 2-DE maps of proteins from soluble and insoluble cortices of 10-month-old ovine lens. Ovine alphaA-, alphaB-, and betaB3-crystallin cDNAs were sequenced, whereas other ovine crystallins were identified by using bovine sequences. Proteins were then isolated from whole lenses of 26-week-old lambs with mature hereditary cataracts, and the changes in the crystallins were determined by 2-DE. The masses of truncated crystallins were determined after elution from 2-DE gels. RESULTS The ovine lens contained the normal complement of crystallins and, similar to other mammalian lenses, underwent partial proteolysis of betaB1-, betaA3-, and betaB3-crystallin during maturation. Cataract development was associated with enhanced truncation of alpha- and beta-crystallins. C-terminal truncations of alphaA- and alphaB-crystallin and N-terminal truncation of betaB2-crystallin were observed as well as a loss of gamma-crystallin. CONCLUSIONS These data provide the first 2-DE gel maps for ovine lens crystallins and indicated that ovine lens crystallins are truncated during lens maturation. The differences in proteolysis appearing in normal and cataractous lenses suggested that calpain isoforms may be differentially activated during lens maturation and cataract. The ovine hereditary cataract is a useful nonrodent model to study the role of calpain proteolysis in cataract formation.

Elevated Copper Remodels Hepatic RNA Processing Machinery in the Mouse Model of Wilson's Disease

Copper is essential to mammalian physiology, and its homeostasis is tightly regulated. In humans, genetic defects in copper excretion result in copper overload and Wilsons disease (WD). Previous studies on the mouse model for WD (Atp7b(-)(/-)) revealed copper accumulation in hepatic nuclei and specific changes in mRNA profile prior to the onset of pathology. To find a molecular link between nuclear copper elevation and changes in hepatic transcriptome, we utilized quantitative ionomic and proteomic approaches. X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis indicate that copper in the Atp7b(-/-) nucleus, while highly elevated, does not markedly alter nuclear ion content. Widespread protein oxidation is also not observed, although the glutathione reductase SelH is upregulated, likely to maintain redox balance. We further demonstrate that accumulating copper affects the abundance and/or modification of a distinct subset of nuclear proteins. These proteins populate pathways that are most significantly associated with RNA processing. An alteration in splicing pattern was observed for hnRNP A2/B1, itself the RNA shuttling factor and spliceosome component. Analysis of hnRNP A2/B1 mRNA and protein revealed an increased retention of exon 2 and a selective 2-fold upregulation of a corresponding protein splice variant. Mass spectrometry measurements suggest that the nucleocytoplasmic distribution of RNA binding proteins, including hnRNP A2/B1, is altered in the Atp7b(-/-) liver. We conclude that remodeling of the RNA processing machinery is an important component of cell response to elevated copper that may guide pathology development in the early stages of WD.