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Ruedi Aebersold

Publications and source records attributed to Ruedi Aebersold.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Quantitative proteomic analysis of the budding yeast cell cycle using acid-cleavable isotope-coded affinity tag reagents.

Quantitative profiling of proteins, the direct effectors of nearly all biological functions, will undoubtedly complement technologies for the measurement of mRNA. Systematic proteomic measurement of the cell cycle is now possible by using stable isotopic labeling with isotope-coded affinity tag reagents and software tools for high-throughput analysis of LC-MS/MS data. We provide here the first such study achieving quantitative, global proteomic measurement of a time-course gene expression experiment in a model eukaryote, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, during the cell cycle. We sampled 48% of all predicted ORFs, and provide the data, including identifications, quantitations, and statistical measures of certainty, to the community in a sortable matrix. We do not detect significant concordance in the dynamics of the system over the time-course tested between our proteomic measurements and microarray measures collected from similarly treated yeast cultures. Our proteomic dataset therefore provides a necessary and complementary measure of eukaryotic gene expression, establishes a rich database for the functional analysis of S. cerevisiae proteins, and will enable further development of technologies for global proteomic analysis of higher eukaryotes.

Carbon Isotopes↗

Optimized peptide separation and identification for mass spectrometry based proteomics via free-flow electrophoresis.

Multidimensional LC-MS based shotgun proteomics experiments at the peptide level have traditionally been carried out by ion exchange in the first dimension and reversed-phase liquid chromatography in the second. Recently, it has been shown that isoelectric focusing (IEF) is an interesting alternative approach to ion exchange separation of peptides in the first dimension. Here we present an improved protocol for peptide separation by continuous free-flow electrophoresis (FFE) as the first dimension in a two-dimensional peptide separation work flow. By the use of a flat pI gradient and a mannitol and urea based separation media we were able to perform high-throughput proteome analysis with improved interfacing between FFE and RPLC-MS/MS. The developed protocol was applied to a cytosolic fraction from Schneider S2 cells from Drosophila melanogaster, resulting in the identification of more than 10,000 unique peptides with high probability. To improve the accuracy of the peptide identification following FFE-IEF we incorporated the pI information as an additional parameter into a statistical model for discrimination between correct and incorrect peptide assignments to MS/MS spectra.

Animals↗

Protein cross-linking analysis using mass spectrometry, isotope-coded cross-linkers, and integrated computational data processing.

Distance constraints in proteins and protein complexes provide invaluable information for calculation of 3D structures, identification of protein binding partners and localization of protein-protein contact sites. We have developed an integrative approach to identify and characterize such sites through the analysis of proteolytic products derived from proteins chemically cross-linked by isotopically coded cross-linkers using LC-MALDI tandem mass spectrometry and computer software. This method is specifically tailored toward the rapid analysis of low microgram amounts of proteins or multimeric protein complexes cross-linked with nonlabeled and deuterium-labeled bis-NHS ester cross-linking reagents (both commercially available and readily synthesized). Through labeling with [18O]water solvent and LC-MALDI analysis, the method further allows the possible distinction between Type 0 and Type 1 or Type 2 modified peptides (monolinks and looplinks or cross-links), although such a distinction is more readily made from analysis of tandem mass spectrometry data. When applied to the bacterial Colicin E7 DNAse/Im7 heterodimeric protein complex, 23 cross-links were identified including six intersubunit cross-links, all between residues that are close in space when examined in the context of the X-ray structure of the heterodimer. In addition, cross-links were successfully identified in five single subunit proteins, beta-lactoglobulin, cytochrome c, lysozyme, myoglobin, and ribonuclease A, establishing the generality of the approach.

Chromatography, Liquid↗

Automated identification of SUMOylation sites using mass spectrometry and SUMmOn pattern recognition software.

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allows for the rapid identification of many types of post-translational modifications (PTMs), especially those that can be detected by a diagnostic mass shift in one or more peptide fragment ions (for example, phosphorylation). But some PTMs (for example, SUMOs and other ubiquitin-like modifiers) themselves produce multiple fragment ions; combined with fragments from the modified target peptide, a complex overlapping fragmentation pattern is thus generated, which is uninterpretable by standard peptide sequencing software. Here we introduce SUMmOn, an automated pattern recognition tool that detects diagnostic PTM fragment ion series within complex MS/MS spectra, to identify modified peptides and modification sites within these peptides. Using SUMmOn, we demonstrate for the first time that human SUMO-1 multimerizes in vitro primarily via three N-terminal lysines, Lys7, Lys16 and Lys17. Notably, our method is theoretically applicable to any type of modification or chemical moiety generating a unique fragment ion pattern.

Algorithms↗

The work of the Human Proteome Organisation's Proteomics Standards Initiative (HUPO PSI).

This article describes the origins, working practices and various development projects of the HUman Proteome Organisation's Proteomics Standards Initiative (HUPO PSI), specifically, our work on reporting requirements, data exchange formats and controlled vocabulary terms. We also offer our view of the two functional genomics projects in which the PSI plays a role (FuGE and FuGO), discussing their impact on our process and laying out the benefits we see as accruing, both to the PSI and to biomedical science as a whole as a result of their widespread acceptance.

Humans↗

Identification and characterization of SAP25, a novel component of the mSin3 corepressor complex.

The transcriptional corepressor mSin3 is associated with histone deacetylases (HDACs) and is utilized by many DNA-binding transcriptional repressors. We have cloned and characterized a novel mSin3A-binding protein, SAP25. SAP25 binds to the PAH1 domain of mSin3A, associates with the mSin3A-HDAC complex in vivo, and represses transcription when tethered to DNA. SAP25 is required for mSin3A-mediated, but not N-CoR-mediated, repression. SAP25 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein, actively exported from the nucleus by a CRM1-dependent mechanism. A fraction of SAP25 is located in promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) nuclear bodies, and PML induces a striking nuclear accumulation of SAP25. An isotope-coded affinity tag quantitative proteomic analysis of the SAP25 complex revealed that SAP25 is associated with several components of the mSin3 complex, nuclear export machinery, and regulators of transcription and cell cycle. These results suggest that SAP25 is a novel core component of the mSin3 corepressor complex whose subcellular location is regulated by PML.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗

High-accuracy proteome maps of human body fluids.

The proteomes most likely to contain clinically useful disease biomarkers are those of human body fluids. Three recent large-scale proteomic analyses of tears, urine and seminal plasma using the latest mass spectrometric technology will provide useful datasets for biomarker discovery.

Biomarkers↗

Analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteome with PeptideAtlas.

We present the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PeptideAtlas composed from 47 diverse experiments and 4.9 million tandem mass spectra. The observed peptides align to 61% of Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) open reading frames (ORFs), 49% of the uncharacterized SGD ORFs, 54% of S. cerevisiae ORFs with a Gene Ontology annotation of 'molecular function unknown', and 76% of ORFs with Gene names. We highlight the use of this resource for data mining, construction of high quality lists for targeted proteomics, validation of proteins, and software development.

Codon↗

Isolation of glycoproteins and identification of their N-linked glycosylation sites.

Protein glycosylation has long been recognized as a very common posttranslational modification. Protein glycosylation is prevalent in proteins destined for extracellular environments. These include proteins localized on the extracellular surface and those secreted to body fluids. In search of a method that has the potential to identify and quantify most proteins found in body fluids or the cell surface, we have recently developed a novel method for solid-phase extraction of formerly N-linked glycosylated peptides from glycoproteins. It has been shown that proteins secreted to body fluids or localized on the cell surface can be specifically enriched by this method. The technique is based on the conjugation of glycoproteins to a solid support using hydrazide chemistry, removal of nonglycosylated peptides by trypsin digestion, stable isotope labeling of glycopeptides, and the specific release of formerly N-linked glycosylated peptides via peptide-N-glycosidase. The recovered formerly N-linked glycopeptides are then identified and quantified by tandem mass spectrometry.

Animals↗

Dynamic spectrum quality assessment and iterative computational analysis of shotgun proteomic data: toward more efficient identification of post-translational modifications, sequence polymorphisms, and novel peptides.

In mass spectrometry-based proteomics, frequently hundreds of thousands of MS/MS spectra are collected in a single experiment. Of these, a relatively small fraction is confidently assigned to peptide sequences, whereas the majority of the spectra are not further analyzed. Spectra are not assigned to peptides for diverse reasons. These include deficiencies of the scoring schemes implemented in the database search tools, sequence variations (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms) or omissions in the database searched, post-translational or chemical modifications of the peptide analyzed, or the observation of sequences that are not anticipated from the genomic sequence (e.g. splice forms, somatic rearrangement, and processed proteins). To increase the amount of information that can be extracted from proteomic MS/MS datasets we developed a robust method that detects high quality spectra within the fraction of spectra unassigned by conventional sequence database searching and computes a quality score for each spectrum. We also demonstrate that iterative search strategies applied to such detected unassigned high quality spectra significantly increase the number of spectra that can be assigned from datasets and that biologically interesting new insights can be gained from existing data.

Alternative Splicing↗

Quantitative proteomic analysis of myc-induced apoptosis: a direct role for Myc induction of the mitochondrial chloride ion channel, mtCLIC/CLIC4.

Myc is a key regulatory protein in higher eukaryotes controlling important cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Myc is profoundly involved in the genesis of many human and animal cancers, and the abrogation of Myc-induced apoptosis is a critical event in cancer progression. Because the mechanisms that mediate Myc-induced apoptosis are largely unknown, we analyzed protein expression during Myc-induced apoptosis using an isotope-coded affinity tag quantitative proteomics approach and identified that a proapoptotic mitochondrial chloride ion channel, mtCLIC/CLIC4, is induced by Myc. Myc binds to the mtCLIC gene promoter and activates its transcription. Suppression of mtCLIC expression by RNA interference inhibited Myc-induced apoptosis in response to different stress conditions and abolished the cooperative induction of apoptosis by Myc and Bax. We also found that Myc reduces the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL and that the apoptosis-inducing stimuli up-regulate Bax expression. These results suggest that up-regulation of mtCLIC, together with a reduction in Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, sensitizes Myc-expressing cells to the proapoptotic action of Bax.

Apoptosis↗

Signal maps for mass spectrometry-based comparative proteomics.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomic experiments, in combination with liquid chromatography-based separation, can be used to compare complex biological samples across multiple conditions. These comparisons are usually performed on the level of protein lists generated from individual experiments. Unfortunately given the current technologies, these lists typically cover only a small fraction of the total protein content, making global comparisons extremely limited. Recently approaches have been suggested that are built on the comparison of computationally built feature lists instead of protein identifications. Although these approaches promise to capture a bigger spectrum of the proteins present in a complex mixture, their success is strongly dependent on the correctness of the identified features and the aligned retention times of these features across multiple experiments. In this experimental-computational study, we went one step further and performed the comparisons directly on the signal level. First signal maps were constructed that associate the experimental signals across multiple experiments. Then a feature detection algorithm used this integrated information to identify those features that are discriminating or common across multiple experiments. At the core of our approach is a score function that faithfully recognizes mass spectra from similar peptide mixtures and an algorithm that produces an optimal alignment (time warping) of the liquid chromatography experiments on the basis of raw MS signal, making minimal assumptions on the underlying data. We provide experimental evidence that suggests uniqueness and correctness of the resulting signal maps even on low accuracy mass spectrometers. These maps can be used for a variety of proteomic analyses. Here we illustrate the use of signal maps for the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers. An imple-mentation of our algorithm is available on our Web server.

Algorithms↗

LC-MS solvent composition monitoring and chromatography alignment using mobile phase tracer molecules.

In the field of proteomics, reproducible liquid chromatographic description of analytes is often a key element for the differentiation or identification of proteins or peptides for clinical or biological research projects. However, analyte identification by retention time can be problematic in proteomics where lack of standardization can result in significantly different chromatography for the same analytes analyzed on different machines. Here we present a novel method of monitoring the mobile phase gradient of LC-MS/MS analyses by monitoring the ion current signal intensities of tracer molecules dissolved in the mobile phase solvents. The tracers' ion current signal intensities chronicled gradient fluctuations, did not adversely affect the number or quality of CID-based sequence identifications, and had lower run-to-run variance when compared to retention time.

Chromatography, Liquid↗

A novel, evolutionarily conserved protein phosphatase complex involved in cisplatin sensitivity.

Using a combination of tandem affinity purification tagging and mass spectrometry, we characterized a novel, evolutionarily conserved protein phosphatase 4 (PP4)-containing complex (PP4cs, protein phosphatase 4, cisplatin-sensitive complex) that plays a critical role in the eukaryotic DNA damage response. PP4cs is comprised of the catalytic subunit PP4C; a known regulatory subunit, PP4R2; and a novel protein that we termed PP4R3. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PP4R3 ortholog Psy2 was identified previously in a screen for sensitivity to the DNA-damaging agent and anticancer drug cisplatin. We demonstrated that deletion of any of the PP4cs complex orthologs in S. cerevisiae elicited cisplatin hypersensitivity. Furthermore human PP4R3 complemented the yeast psy2 deletion, and Drosophila melanogaster lacking functional PP4R3 (flfl) exhibited cisplatin hypersensitivity, suggesting a highly conserved role for PP4cs in DNA damage repair. Finally we found that PP4R3 may target PP4cs to the DNA damage repair machinery at least in part via an interaction with Rad53 (CHK2).

Cell Line↗

A uniform proteomics MS/MS analysis platform utilizing open XML file formats.

The analysis of tandem mass (MS/MS) data to identify and quantify proteins is hampered by the heterogeneity of file formats at the raw spectral data, peptide identification, and protein identification levels. Different mass spectrometers output their raw spectral data in a variety of proprietary formats, and alternative methods that assign peptides to MS/MS spectra and infer protein identifications from those peptide assignments each write their results in different formats. Here we describe an MS/MS analysis platform, the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline, which makes use of open XML file formats for storage of data at the raw spectral data, peptide, and protein levels. This platform enables uniform analysis and exchange of MS/MS data generated from a variety of different instruments, and assigned peptides using a variety of different database search programs. We demonstrate this by applying the pipeline to data sets generated by ThermoFinnigan LCQ, ABI 4700 MALDI-TOF/TOF, and Waters Q-TOF instruments, and searched in turn using SEQUEST, Mascot, and COMET.

Archaeal Proteins↗

Investigation of neutral loss during collision-induced dissociation of peptide ions.

MS/MS fragmentation of peptides is dominated by overlapping b and y ion series. However, alternative fragmentation possibilities exist, including neutral loss. A database was generated containing 8400 MS/MS spectra of tryptic peptides assigned with high probability to an amino acid sequence (true positives) and a set of certified false (true negative) assignments for analysis of the amino terminus. A similar database was created for analysis of neutral loss at the carboxy termini using a data set of chymotryptic peptides. The analysis demonstrated that the presence of an internal basic residue, limiting proton mobility, has a profound effect on neutral loss. Peptides with fully mobile protons demonstrated minimal neutral loss, with the exception of amide bonds with proline on the carboxy terminal side, which created an intense neutral loss peak. In contrast, peptides with partial proton mobility contained many amino acids on either side of the amide bond associated with a strong neutral loss peak. Most notable among these was proline on the carboxy terminal side of an amide bond and aspartic acid on the amino terminal side of a bond. All results were found to be consistent for doubly and triply charged peptides and after adjustment for pairings across the amide bonds with particularly labile residues. The carboxy terminal of chymotryptic peptides also demonstrated significant neutral loss events associated with numerous amino acid residues. Clarification of the rules that govern neutral loss, when incorporated into analysis software, will improve our ability to correctly assign spectra to peptide sequences.

Amines↗

A software suite for the generation and comparison of peptide arrays from sets of data collected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

There is an increasing interest in the quantitative proteomic measurement of the protein contents of substantially similar biological samples, e.g. for the analysis of cellular response to perturbations over time or for the discovery of protein biomarkers from clinical samples. Technical limitations of current proteomic platforms such as limited reproducibility and low throughput make this a challenging task. A new LC-MS-based platform is able to generate complex peptide patterns from the analysis of proteolyzed protein samples at high throughput and represents a promising approach for quantitative proteomics. A crucial component of the LC-MS approach is the accurate evaluation of the abundance of detected peptides over many samples and the identification of peptide features that can stratify samples with respect to their genetic, physiological, or environmental origins. We present here a new software suite, SpecArray, that generates a peptide versus sample array from a set of LC-MS data. A peptide array stores the relative abundance of thousands of peptide features in many samples and is in a format identical to that of a gene expression microarray. A peptide array can be subjected to an unsupervised clustering analysis to stratify samples or to a discriminant analysis to identify discriminatory peptide features. We applied the SpecArray to analyze two sets of LC-MS data: one was from four repeat LC-MS analyses of the same glycopeptide sample, and another was from LC-MS analysis of serum samples of five male and five female mice. We demonstrate through these two study cases that the SpecArray software suite can serve as an effective software platform in the LC-MS approach for quantitative proteomics.

Amino Acid Sequence↗