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Yufeng Shen

Publications and source records attributed to Yufeng Shen.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2025

Mitochondrial Lon Peptidase 1 Controls Diaphragm and Lung Development in a Context-Dependent Manner.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) is a rare neonatal disorder causing diaphragmatic defects and cardiopulmonary hypoplasia, traditionally attributed to mechanical compression from organ herniation. However, emerging evidence suggests genetic mutations may independently impair lung development, prompting debate over CDH etiology. Here, we investigated the requirement of mitochondrial function guarded by LON peptidase 1 (Lonp1), a CDH risk gene, in either diaphragm or lung development. Lonp1 loss in skeletal muscles of the diaphragm led to its thinning and membranization, recapitulating the pathology of sac-type CDH. On the other hand, lung-specific inactivation caused severe hypoplasia with defective branching morphogenesis, independent of diaphragm anomalies. Molecularly, Lonp1 disruption dysregulated key transcription factors and signaling pathways known to be critical for early lung development. Our findings here revealed that mitochondrial defects contribute to the pathogenesis of CDH in an organ and cell type specific manner, opening new avenues for drug and therapeutic development.

CDH↗
PubMed2003

Use of artificial neural networks for the accurate prediction of peptide liquid chromatography elution times in proteome analyses.

The use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) is described for predicting the reversed-phase liquid chromatography retention times of peptides enzymatically digested from proteome-wide proteins. To enable the accurate comparison of the numerous LC/MS data sets, a genetic algorithm was developed to normalize the peptide retention data into a range (from 0 to 1), improving the peptide elution time reproducibility to approximately 1%. The network developed in this study was based on amino acid residue composition and consists of 20 input nodes, 2 hidden nodes, and 1 output node. A data set of approximately 7000 confidently identified peptides from the microorganism Deinococcus radiodurans was used for the training of the ANN. The ANN was then used to predict the elution times for another set of 5200 peptides tentatively identified by MS/MS from a different microorganism (Shewanella oneidensis). The model was found to predict the elution times of peptides with up to 54 amino acid residues (the longest peptide identified after tryptic digestion of S. oneidensis) with an average accuracy of approximately 3%. This predictive capability was then used to distinguish with high confidence isobar peptides otherwise indistinguishable by accurate mass measurements as well as to uncover peptide misidentifications. Thus, integration of ANN peptide elution time prediction in the proteomic research will increase both the number of protein identifications and their confidence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

High-throughput global peptide proteomic analysis by combining stable isotope amino acid labeling and data-dependent multiplexed-MS/MS.

In this work, we describe the application of a stable isotope amino acid (lysine) labeling in conjunction with data-dependent multiplexed tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to facilitate the characterization and identification of peptides from proteomic (global protein) digests. Lysine auxotrophic yeast was grown in the presence of 13C-labeled or unlabeled lysine and combined after harvesting in equal proportions. Endoproteinase LysC digestion of the cytosolic fraction produced a global proteomic sample, consisting of heavy/light labeled peptide pairs. Then data-dependent multiplexed-MS/MS was applied to simultaneously select and dissociate only labeled peptide ion pairs. The approach allows differentiation between N-terminal (e.g., b-type ions) and C-terminal fragment ions (e.g., y-type ions) in resulting tandem mass spectra, as well as the capability of differentiation between near-isobaric glutamine and lysine residues. We also describe the utility of peptide composition and fragment information to support peptide identifications and examine the potential application of lysine labeling for differential quantitative protein analysis.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2002

High-efficiency nanoscale liquid chromatography coupled on-line with mass spectrometry using nanoelectrospray ionization for proteomics.

We describe high-efficiency (peak capacities of approximately 10(3)) nanoscale (using column inner diameters down to 15 microm) liquid chromatography (nanoLC)/low flow rate electrospray (nanoESI) mass spectrometry (MS) for the sensitive analysis of complex global cellular protein enzymatic digests (i.e., proteomics). Using a liquid slurry packing method with carefully selected packing solvents, 87-cm-length capillaries having inner diameters of 14.9-74.5 microm were successfully packed with 3-microm C18-bonded porous (300-A pores) silica particles at a pressure of 18,000 psi. With a mobile-phase delivery pressure of 10,000 psi, these packed capillaries provided mobile-phase flow rates as low as approximately 20 nL/min at LC linear velocities of approximately 0.2 cm/s, which is near optimal for separation efficiency. To maintain chromatographic efficiency, unions with internal channel diameters as small as 10 microm were specially produced for connecting packed capillaries to replaceable nanoESI emitters having orifice diameters of 2-10 microm (depending on the packed capillary dimensions). Coupled on-line with a hybrid-quadrupole time-of-flight MS through the nanoESI interface, the nanoLC separations provided peak capacities of approximately 10(3) for proteome proteolytic polypeptide mixtures when a positive feedback switching valve was used for quantitatively introducing samples. Over a relatively large range of sample loadings (e.g., 5-100 ng, and 50-500 ng of cellular proteolytic peptides for 14.9- and 29.7-microm-i.d. packed capillaries, respectively), the nanoLC/nanoESI MS response for low-abundance components of the complex mixtures was found to increase linearly with sample loading. The nanoLC/nanoESI-MS sensitivity also increased linearly with decreasing flow rate (or approximately inversely proportional to the square of the capillary inner diameter) in the flow range of 20-400 nL/min. Thus, except at the lower loadings, decreasing the separation capillary inner diameter has an effect equivalent to increasing sample loading, which is important for sample-limited proteomic applications. No significant effects on recovery of eluting polypeptides were observed using porous C18 particles with surface pores of 300-A versus nonporous particles. Tandem MS analyses were also demonstrated using the high-efficiency nanoLC separations. Chromatographic elution time, MS response intensity, and mass measurement accuracy was examined between runs with a single column (with a single nanoESI emitter), between different columns (same and different inner diameters with different nanoESI emitters), and for different samples (various concentrations of cellular proteolytic peptides) and demonstrated robust and reproducible sensitive analyses for complex proteomic samples.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2002

Global analysis of the Deinococcus radiodurans proteome by using accurate mass tags.

Understanding biological systems and the roles of their constituents is facilitated by the ability to make quantitative, sensitive, and comprehensive measurements of how their proteome changes, e.g., in response to environmental perturbations. To this end, we have developed a high-throughput methodology to characterize an organism's dynamic proteome based on the combination of global enzymatic digestion, high-resolution liquid chromatographic separations, and analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The peptides produced serve as accurate mass tags for the proteins and have been used to identify with high confidence >61% of the predicted proteome for the ionizing radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. This fraction represents the broadest proteome coverage for any organism to date and includes 715 proteins previously annotated as either hypothetical or conserved hypothetical.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2002

Direct mass spectrometric analysis of intact proteins of the yeast large ribosomal subunit using capillary LC/FTICR.

Electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry coupled with capillary reverse-phase liquid chromatography was used to characterize intact proteins from the large subunit of the yeast ribosome. High mass measurement accuracy, achieved by "mass locking" with an internal standard from a dual electrospray ionization source, allowed identification of ribosomal proteins. Analyses of the intact proteins revealed information on cotranslational and posttranslational modifications of the ribosomal proteins that included loss of the initiating methionine, acetylation, methylation, and proteolytic maturation. High-resolution separations permitted differentiation of protein isoforms having high structural similarity as well as proteins from their modified forms, facilitating unequivocal assignments. The study identified 42 of the 43 core large ribosomal subunit proteins and 58 (of 64 possible) core large subunit protein isoforms having unique masses in a single analysis. These results demonstrate the basis for the high-throughput analyses of complex mixtures of intact proteins, which we believe will be an important complement to other approaches for defining protein modifications and their changes resulting from physiological processes or environmental perturbations.

Chromatography↗
PubMed2002

Conformational pathways in the gating of Escherichia coli mechanosensitive channel.

The pathway of the gating conformational transition of Escherichia coli mechanosensitive channel was simulated, using the recently modeled open and closed structures, by targeted molecular dynamics method. The transition can be roughly viewed as a four-stage process. The initial motion under a lower tension load is predominantly elastic deformation. The opening of the inner hydrophobic pore on a higher tension load takes place after the major expansion of the outer channel dimension. The hypothetical N-terminal S1 helical bundle has been confirmed to form the hydrophobic gate, together with the M1 helices. The sequential breaking of the tandem hydrophobic constrictions on the M1 and S1 helices makes the two parts of the gate strictly coupled, acting as a single gate. The simulation also revealed that there is no significant energetic coupling between the inner S1 bundle and the outer M2 transmembrane helices. The molten-globular-like structural features of the S1 bundle in its intermediate open states may account for the observed multiple subconductance states. Moreover, the intermediate open states of mechanosensitive channels are not symmetric, i.e., the opening does not follow iris-like motion, which sharply contrasts to the potassium channel KcsA.

Cytoplasm↗
PubMed2002

Intrinsic flexibility and gating mechanism of the potassium channel KcsA.

The gating mechanism of the potassium channel KcsA was studied by normal mode analysis. The results provided an atomic description of the locations of the pivot points and the motional features of key structural elements in the gating process. Two pivot points were found in the motions of the inner TM2 helical bundle that directly modulate the size of the central channel pore. One point is an intrasubunit hinge point that sharply divides the structural flexibility between the more rigid selectivity filter and the more mobile peripheral transmembrane helices. Such a division is vital for KcsA because it permits the large-scale motions of transmembrane helices required for the gating and, in the meantime, maintains the rigidity of the filter region essential for the selectivity. The other pivot point is an intersubunit one at which all four TM2 helices are bundled together. During the gating process, each TM2 helix undergoes a lever-like swinging motion pivoting on the intrasubunit hinge, and the entire TM2 bundle undergoes a concerted rotational motion around the central channel axis constrained around the intersubunit bundle point. This series of motions leads to a dramatic enlargement of the intracellular gate without loosening up the structural integrity.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2002

Proteomics based on high-efficiency capillary separations.

Identifying and quantifying in a high throughput manner the proteins expressed by cells, tissues or an organism provides the basis for understanding the functions of its constituents at a "systems" level. As a result, proteome analysis has increasingly become the focus of significant interest and research over the past decade. This is especially true following the recent stunning achievements in genomics analyses. However, unlike the static genome, the complexities and dynamism of the proteome present significant analytical challenges and demand highly efficient separations and detection technologies. A number of recent technological advancements have been in direct response to these challenges. Currently, strategically mated combinations of sophisticated separations techniques and advanced mass spectrometric detection represent the best approach to addressing the intricacies of the proteome. Liquid-phase separations, often within capillaries, are increasingly recognized as the best separations technique for this approach. In combination on-line with mass spectrometry, liquid-phase separations provide the improved analytical sensitivity, sample throughput, and quantitation capabilities necessitated by the multifaceted problems within proteomics analyses. This review focuses primarily on current high-efficiency capillary separations techniques, including both capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, applied to the analysis of complex proteomic samples. We emphasize developments at our laboratory and illustrate technical advances that attempt to review the role of separations within the broader context of a state-of-the-art integrated proteomics effort.

Chromatography, Liquid↗
PubMed2002

Integration of capillary isoelectric focusing with capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography for two-dimensional proteomics separation.

On-line combination of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) with capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography (CRPLC) is developed using a microinjector as the interface for performing two-dimensional (2-D) protein/peptide separations of complex protein mixtures. The focusing effect of CIEF not only contributes to a high-resolution protein/peptide separation, but also may permit the analysis of low-abundance proteins with a typical concentration factor of 50-100 times. The preparative capabilities of CIEF are much larger than most of capillary-based electrokinetic separation techniques since the entire capillary is initially filled with a solution containing proteins/peptides and carrier ampholytes for the creation of a pH gradient inside the capillary. The focused peptides which have a similar pI are coinjected into the second separation dimension and further resolved by their differences in hydrophobicity. The resolving power of combined CIEF-CRPLC system is demonstrated using the soluble fraction of Drosophila salivary glands taken from a period beginning before steroid-triggered programmed cell death and extending to its completion. The separation mechanisms of CIEF and CRPLC are completely orthogonal and the overall peak capacity is estimated to be around approximately 1800 over a run time of less than 8 h. Significant enhancement in the separation peak capacity can be realized by further increasing the number of CIEF fractions and/or slowing the solvent gradient in CRPLC, however, at the expense of overall analysis time. The results of our preliminary studies display significant differences in the separation profiles of peptide samples obtained from salivary glands of animals staged at the 6 and 12 h following puparium formation.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

An accurate mass tag strategy for quantitative and high-throughput proteome measurements.

We describe and demonstrate a global strategy that extends the sensitivity, dynamic range, comprehensiveness, and throughput of proteomic measurements based upon the use of peptide "accurate mass tags" (AMTs) produced by global protein enzymatic digestion. The two-stage strategy exploits Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry to validate peptide AMTs for a specific organism, tissue or cell type from "potential mass tags" identified using conventional tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) methods, providing greater confidence in identifications as well as the basis for subsequent measurements without the need for MS/MS, and thus with greater sensitivity and increased throughput. A single high resolution capillary liquid chromatography separation combined with high sensitivity, high resolution and accurate FT-ICR measurements has been shown capable of characterizing peptide mixtures of significantly more than 10(5) components with mass accuracies of < 1 ppm, sufficient for broad protein identification using AMTs. Other attractions of the approach include the broad and relatively unbiased proteome coverage, the capability for exploiting stable isotope labeling methods to realize high precision for relative protein abundance measurements, and the projected potential for study of mammalian proteomes when combined with additional sample fractionation. Using this strategy, in our first application we have been able to identify AMTs for >60% of the potentially expressed proteins in the organism Deinococcus radiodurans.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Gene expression profiling using advanced mass spectrometric approaches.

In the era of systems biology, computational and high-throughput experimental biological approaches are increasingly being combined to provide global snapshots of entire genomes and proteomes under tissue- and disease-specific conditions. The aim is to identify proteins changing in concentration and/or post-translational state and/or location, and develop a better molecular level understanding of the operation of biological systems. Here we describe an approach for comparative proteomics that builds upon the combination of high-performance nano-scale separations with the high-mass measurement accuracy, mass-resolving power and sensitivity of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry to provide broad dynamic range, comprehensive and quantitative proteome measurements.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Increased proteome coverage for quantitative peptide abundance measurements based upon high performance separations and DREAMS FTICR mass spectrometry.

A primary challenge in proteome measurements is to be able to detect, identify, and quantify the extremely complex mixtures of proteins. The relative abundances of interest span at least six orders of magnitude for mammalian proteomes, and this constitutes an intractable challenge for high throughput proteome studies. We have recently described a new approach, Dynamic Range Enhancement Applied to Mass Spectrometry (DREAMS), which is based upon the selective ejection of the most abundant species to expand the dynamic range of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonanace (FTICR) measurements. The basis of our approach is on-the-fly data-dependent selective ejection of highly abundant species, followed by prolonged accumulation of remaining low-abundance species in a quadrupole external to the FTICR ion trap. Here we report the initial implementation of this approach with high efficiency capillary reverse phase LC separations and high magnetic field electrospray ionization FTICR mass spectrometry for obtaining enhanced coverage in quantitative measurements for mammalian proteomes. We describe the analysis of a sample derived from a tryptic digest of proteins from mouse B16 cells cultured in both natural isotopic abundance and 15N-labeled media. The FTICR mass spectrometric analysis allows the assignment of peptide pairs (corresponding to the two distinctive versions of each peptide), and thus provides the basis for quantiative measurements when one of the two proteomes in the mixture is perturbed or altered in some fashion. We show that implementation of the DREAMS approach allows assignment of approximately 80% more peptide pairs, thus providing quantitative information for approximately 18,000 peptide pairs in a single analysis.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The use of accurate mass tags for high-throughput microbial proteomics.

We describe and review progress towards a global strategy that aims to extend the sensitivity, dynamic range, comprehensiveness, and throughput of proteomic measurements for microbial systems based upon the use of polypeptide accurate mass tags (AMTs) produced by global protein enzymatic digestions. The two-stage strategy exploits high accuracy mass measurements using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR) to validate polypeptide AMTs for a specific organism, from potential mass tags tentatively identified using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), providing the basis for subsequent measurements without the need for routine MS/MS. A high-resolution capillary liquid chromatography separation combined with high sensitivity, and high-resolution accurate FTICR measurements is shown to be capable of characterizing polypeptide mixtures of more than 10(5) components, sufficient for broad protein identification using AMTs. Advantages of the approach include the high confidence of protein identification, its broad proteome coverage, and the capability for stable-isotope labeling methods for precise relative protein abundance measurements. The strategy has been initially evaluated using the microorganisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Deinococcus radiodurans. Additional developments, including the use of multiplexed-MS/MS capabilities and methods for dynamic range expansion of proteome measurements that promise to further extend the quality of proteomics measurements, are also described.

Amino Acid Sequence↗