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Sheng-Yu Huang

Publications and source records attributed to Sheng-Yu Huang.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Dimethyl multiplexed labeling combined with microcolumn separation and MS analysis for time course study in proteomics.

Stable-isotope labeling coupled with liquid-phase separation and MS analysis is a powerful technique for comparative proteomics. We developed a dimethyl labeling strategy (Anal. Chem. 2003, 75, 6843-6852 and J. Proteome Res. 2005, 4, 101-108) to label peptide N-terminus and epsilon-amino groups of Lys with water-soluble formaldehyde via reductive methylation, and an isotopic pair of formaldehyde is used for binary labeling on two sets of samples. In this study, this approach is extended to a four sample labeling by combining the binary isotopic reagents of formaldehyde (d0, d2) and the binary isotopic reducing reagents, sodium cyanoborohydride (d0, d3). To ensure sufficient mass difference, this multiplexed labeling is coupled with endoproteinase Lys-C instead of trypsin for digestion, resulting in at least two labeling sites with a mass difference of 4 Da for each pair of peptide digest. Moreover, multiplex dimethyl labeling was proved to have no significant isotopic effect during RP LC elution. This method was further applied for monitoring Lys-C digestion using hemoglobin as a model. Dimethyl labeled digests derived from seven time points (1-30 h) were grouped into two sets of sample mixtures, separated by nano-LC to reduce the complexity, and then analyzed by ESI-MS/MS. The temporal study reveals that Lys-C digestion was completed in 10-15 h for all detected peptides. The multiplex dimethyl method has not only provided a simultaneous detection mean for four sample sets but has also conserved all the advantages associated with the original binary method.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Quantitation of protein phosphorylation in pregnant rat uteri using stable isotope dimethyl labeling coupled with IMAC.

Quantitative analysis of protein phosphorylation provides important insights into molecular signaling mechanisms and a better understanding of many cellular processes. In this study, we coupled stable isotope dimethyl labeling with immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) enrichment to quantify protein phosphorylation at MS-determined phosphorylation sites. The proposed method was first characterized using alpha- and beta-casein as two model phosphoproteins, and further applied to the analysis of pregnant rat uteri with and without treatment with 8-bromo-cGMP. Dimethyl labeling has several significant advantages: global, fast (within 5 min) and complete (near 100%). Our results indicate that the labeling has no adverse effect on the IMAC enrichment for tryptic peptides having single and multiple phosphorylation sites. Moreover, the enhanced a1 signal and the complete reaction by dimethyl labeling provide unequivocal identification of both the N-terminal amino acid and the number of the labeling site. Using these two criteria in data validation, which is particularly important for identifying phosphoproteins, we found that the confidence in interpreting dimethyl-labeled peptides had greatly increased. In the analysis of late gestation rat uteri, the abundance ratio between treated and un-treated phosphopeptide signals ranged from 0.51 to 1.69 with an average of around 1.01 +/- 0.25. The obtained ratio of the phosphorylation levels at Ser 15 of HSP27 was further confirmed by the consistent results obtained from Western blot analyses. Based on the analysis of the results, it is interesting to note that the activated cGMP dependent protein kinase G (PKG) seems to affect the phosphorylation of proteins associated with the inhibition of cell migration and proliferation, redistribution of actin-associated proteins, and the increase of protein synthesis in late-gestation uteri. These observations provide important evidence suggesting that activated PKG may play a critical role in the shift of pregnant uteri from proliferative to hypertrophic states.

Animals↗

Photopolymerized microtips for sample preparation in proteomic analysis.

We demonstrate a novel method for the fabrication of disposable plastic microtips, which we name "EasyTip", by a photopolymerization technique. C18 reversed-phase (C18) and ion metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) beads were immobilized on a plastic pipette tip, made of polypropylene materials, by photo-initiated polymerization. The fabricated EasyTips can be manipulated using commercial pipettes for wash/elution of minute amount of biological samples (< 10 microL) and can be applied for mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic analysis, in which the detection sensitivity depends critically on the optimal sample preparation. The recovery of a sample of 25 fmol of tryptic hemoglobin digest loaded in a C18 EasyTip was near 100% and we estimated the loading capacity to be around 0.4-2.0 microg of total proteins or peptides, which is well above a sufficient quantity for MS analysis. The effectiveness of the C18 EasyTips in enhancing the detection sensitivity of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-MS signal, and thus providing a greater sequence coverage, was also demonstrated by the analysis of hemoglobin digest and the in-gel digested epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein from A431 cell lysate. We also demonstrated the usefulness of the immobilized IMAC EasyTips in extracting the signal of tryptic phosphopeptides of beta-casein (10 pmol) having one and four phosphorylation sites by using an IMAC EasyTip prior to off-line analysis by MS. The combination of IMAC EasyTips and MALDI-MS allowed the unambiguous identification of phosphopeptides based on the phosphatase assay as well as the post-source decay. Compared to other miniaturized devices, this fabrication method is simple, cheap, and requires less human intervention. Moreover, the method of manipulating the EasyTips is straightforward and can be automated readily by a robotic system for high-throughput analysis.

Disposable Equipment↗

A convenient method to extract matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry spectra from phosphate-containing peptide mixtures.

Here we report that the addition of HCl or HNO(3) to the matrix at a limited concentration dramatically increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry spectrum of phosphate-containing peptide mixtures such as those obtained from an immobilised metal affinity capture eluent or a phosphate-containing tryptic digest. These improved spectra permitted both peptide identification and the determination of protein phosphorylation sites. In comparison to existing methods for removing salts, this method requires less sample manipulation and thus less sample loss is expected.

Animals↗

Stable-isotope dimethyl labeling for quantitative proteomics.

In this paper, we report a novel, stable-isotope labeling strategy for quantitative proteomics that uses a simple reagent, formaldehyde, to globally label the N-terminus and epsilon-amino group of Lys through reductive amination. This labeling strategy produces peaks differing by 28 mass units for each derivatized site relative to its nonderivatized counterpart and 4 mass units for each derivatized isotopic pair. This labeling reaction is fast (less than 5 min) and complete without any detectable byproducts based on the analysis of MALDI and LC/ESI-MS/MS spectra of both derivatized and nonderivatized peptide standards and tryptic peptides of hemoglobin molecules. The intensity of the a(1) and y(n-1) ions produced, which were not detectable from most of the nonderivatized fragments, was substantially enhanced upon labeling. We further tested the method based on the analysis of an isotopic pair of peptide standards and a pair of defined protein mixtures with known H/D ratios. Using LC/MS for quantification and LC/MS/MS for peptide sequencing, the results show a negligible isotopic effect, a good mass resolution between the isotopic pair, and a good correlation between the experimental and theoretical data (errors 0-4%). The relative standard deviation of H/D values calculated from peptides deduced from the same protein are less than 13%. The applicability of the method for quantitative protein profiling was also explored by analyzing changes in nuclear protein abundance in an immortalized E7 cell with and without arsenic treatment.

Amination↗

Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based microfluidic device with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry interface for protein identification.

An easy method to fabricate poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidic chips for protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry is presented. This microchip has typical electrophoretic microchannels, a flow-through sampling inlet, and a sheathless nanoelectrospray ionization (ESI) interface. The surface of the microchannel was modified with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and the generated electroosmotic flow under acidic buffer condition used for the separation was found to be more stable compared to that generated by the microchannel without modification. The feasibility of the device for flow-through sampling, separation, and ESI-MS/MS analysis was demonstrated by the analysis of a standard mixture composed of three tryptic peptides. Results show that four peaks corresponding to three peptide standards and acetylated products of the standard peptide were well resolved and the deduced sequences were consistent with those expected. Furthermore, the compatibility of this device with other miniaturized devices to integrate the whole process was also explored by connecting a miniaturized enzymatic digestion cartridge and a desalting cartridge in series to the sampling inlet of the microchip for the identification of a model protein, beta-casein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Beyond quantitative proteomics: signal enhancement of the a1 ion as a mass tag for peptide sequencing using dimethyl labeling.

Stable isotope-based dimethyl labeling that produces a dimethyl labeled terminal amine or a monomethylated proline N-terminus by reductive methylation (Anal. Chem. 2003, 75, 6843-6852) was reported as a promising strategy for global quantitative proteomics because of the simplicity of the process and its fast and complete reaction. This labeling strategy provides a signal enhancement for the produced a1 ions, which are usually hard to detect among most of the nonderivatized fragments. To assist peptide sequencing, in this study, the enhanced a1 ion produced under either collision induced dissociation (CID) or post source decay (PSD) modes was further characterized and applied as a mass tag for fingerprinting the identity of N-terminal amino acid. On the basis of the analysis of standard peptides, tryptic digests of hemoglobin and cell lysates, it was proved that such signal enhancement occurred to a1 ions derived from all 20 of the amino acids residues and this phenomenon was explained based the formation of stable quaternary immoniun ions. Accurate determination of a1 ions was shown to increase the chance for peptide de novo sequencing and also provided higher confidence in the scores obtained when identifying a protein through database searching. In addition, the a1 ion was further demonstrated to be used as a universal tag for precursor ion scan in a Q-TOF instrument, leading to a greater number of peptide ions sequenced. Combined with the capability for differential quantitation, the stable isotope-based dimethyl labeling increases the usefulness of the labeling method for MS-based proteomics.

Hemoglobins↗