Mass spectrometry of protein complexes: from origins to applications.

Now routine is the ability to investigate soluble and membrane protein complexes in the gas phase of a mass spectrometer while preserving folded structure and ligand-binding properties. Several recent transformative developments have occurred to arrive at this point. These include advances in mass spectrometry instrumentation, particularly with respect to resolution; the ability to study intact membrane protein complexes released from detergent micelles; and the use of protein unfolding in the gas phase to obtain stability parameters. Together, these discoveries are providing unprecedented information on the compositional heterogeneity of biomacromolecules, the unfolding trajectories of multidomain proteins, and the stability imparted by ligand binding to both soluble and membrane-embedded protein complexes. We review these recent breakthroughs, highlighting the challenges that had to be overcome and the physicochemical insight that can now be gained from studying proteins and their assemblies in the gas phase.

Relating gas phase to solution conformations: Lessons from disordered proteins.

In recent years both mass spectrometry (MS) and ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) have been developed as techniques with which to study proteins that lack a fixed tertiary structure but may contain regions that form secondary structure elements transiently, namely intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). IM-MS is a suitable method for the study of IDPs which provides an insight to conformations that are present in solution, potentially enabling the analysis of lowly populated structural forms. Here, we describe the IM-MS data of two IDPs; α-Synuclein (α-Syn) which is implicated in Parkinson's disease, and Apolipoprotein C-II (ApoC-II) which is involved in cardiovascular diseases. We report an apparent discrepancy in the way that ApoC-II behaves in the gas phase. While most IDPs, including α-Syn, present in many charge states and a wide range of rotationally averaged collision cross sections (CCSs), ApoC-II presents in just four charge states and a very narrow range of CCSs, independent of solution conditions. Here, we compare MS and IM-MS data of both proteins, and rationalise the differences between the proteins in terms of different ionisation processes which they may adhere to.

MALDI ionization mechanisms investigated by comparison of isomers of dihydroxybenzoic acid.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) ion formation mechanisms were investigated by comparison of isomers of dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB). These exhibit substantially different MALDI performance, the basis for which was not previously understood. Luminescence decay curves are used here to estimate excited electronic state properties relevant for the coupled chemical and physical dynamics (CPCD) model. With these estimates, the CPCD predictions for relative total ion and analyte ion yields are in good agreement with the data for the DHB isomers. Predictions of a thermal equilibrium model were also compared and found to be incompatible with the data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Coupled Chemical and Physical Dynamics Model of MALDI.

The coupled physical and chemical dynamics model of ultraviolet matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) has reproduced and explained a wide variety of MALDI phenomena. The rationale behind and elements of the model are reviewed, including the photophysics, kinetics, and thermodynamics of primary and secondary reaction steps. Experimental results are compared with model predictions to illustrate the foundations of the model, coupling of ablation and ionization, differences between and commonalities of matrices, secondary charge transfer reactions, ionization in both polarities, fluence and concentration dependencies, and suppression and enhancement effects.