Capillary Zone Electrophoresis-Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Top-Down Proteomics of Mouse Brain Integral Membrane Proteins

Anal Chem. 2023 Aug 29;95(34):12590-12594. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c02346. Epub 2023 Aug 18.

Abstract

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based top-down characterization of integral membrane proteins (IMPs) is crucial for understanding their functions in biological processes. However, it is technically challenging due to their low solubility in typical MS-compatible buffers. In this work, for the first time, we developed an efficient capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)-tandem MS (MS/MS) method for the top-down proteomics (TDP) of IMPs enriched from mouse brains. Our technique employs a sample buffer containing 30% (v/v) formic acid and 60% (v/v) methanol for solubilizing IMPs and utilizes a separation buffer of 30% (v/v) acetic acid and 30% (v/v) methanol for maintaining the solubility of IMPs during CZE separation. Single-shot CZE-MS/MS identified 51 IMP proteoforms from the mouse brain sample. Coupling size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to CZE-MS/MS enabled the identification of 276 IMP proteoforms from the mouse brain sample containing 1-4 transmembrane domains. This proof-of-concept work demonstrates the high potential of CZE-MS/MS for the large-scale TDP of IMPs.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Electrophoresis, Capillary
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Methanol*
  • Mice
  • Proteomics
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry*

Substances

  • Methanol
  • Membrane Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins