In mesopore protein digestion: a new forthcoming strategy in proteomics.

The conventional protocols for in solution or in gel protein digestion require many steps and long reaction times. The use of trypsin immobilized onto solid supports has recently captured the attention of many research groups, because these systems can speed-up protein digestion significantly. The utilization of new materials such as mesoporous silica as supports, in which enzyme and substrate are dramatically concentrated and confined in the nanospace, offers new opportunities to reduce the complexity of proteomics workflows. An overview of the procedures for in situ proteolysis of single proteins or complex protein mixtures is reported, with a special focus on porous materials used as catalysts. The challenging efforts for designing such systems aimed at mimicking the biochemistry of living cells are reviewed. Potentials, limitations and challenges of this branch of enzyme catalysis, which we indicate as in mesopore digestion, are discussed, in relation to its suitability for high-speed and high-throughput proteomics.

Derivatized mesoporous silica beads for MALDI-TOF MS profiling of human plasma and urine.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a promising tool for large-scale screening of body fluids for the early detection of human diseases. Proteins, peptides, and metabolites present in cells, tissues, or in body fluids constitute the molecular signatures of individuals. The design and generation of material-based platforms for capturing molecular signatures from body fluids has gained increasing interest in recent years. Highly selective materials are attractive candidates for a wide range of applications in biofluid proteomics. We have therefore developed a procedure based on mesoporous silica particles for the selective binding and enrichment of low molecular weight plasma/serum proteins by MALDI MS analysis ( Terracciano, R., Gaspari, M., Testa, F., Pasqua, L., Cuda G., Tagliaferri, P., Cheng, M. C., Nijdam, A. J., Petricoin, E. F., Liotta, L. A., Ferrari, M., and Venuta, S. ( 2006 ) Selective binding and enrichment for low-molecular weight biomarker molecules in human plasma after exposure to nanoporous silica particles . Proteomics 6, 3243-3250 ). Mesoporous silica beads (MSB) are able to harvest peptides from plasma and serum by means of nanosized porous channels with high surface area, while excluding large size proteins. Moreover, the absorption properties can be modified since the pore walls can be functionalized with different chemical species due to the high concentration of silanol groups at the surface. In this study, we performed derivatization of MSB with different functionalities, and we evaluated the derivatized materials for plasma and urine peptidomic profiling. Aminopropyl, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl, and N,N,N' tris-carboxymethyl ethylene diamine, have been introduced onto the mesoporous silica surfaces in order to modulate selective peptide enrichment. We also explored various experimental conditions in order to optimize the performance of chemically modified MSB in the peptide profiling of human plasma and urine. These new derivatized mesoporous surfaces, in addition to the previous nonderivatized MSB, constitute an extended and reliable platform of five distinct chromatographic phases with defined surface functionality and porosity. Several plasma and urine peptides were extracted from derivatized MSB and then profiled by MALDI-TOF MS. The reproducibility of sample preparation by different functionalized beads was evaluated via three replicate analyses of plasma and urine samples. Lower coefficients of variation in the mass values and peak intensities resulted for plasma in comparison to those of urine samples; nevertheless, these where satisfactory for diagnostic purposes. For human urine, a linear correlation was found between spiked peptide concentrations and their peak areas (R(2) > 0.98) with a limit of detection in the low-nanogram per milliliter range, thus confirming the high sensitivity of the methodology, previously demonstrated for human plasma. Different panels of peptide repertoires have thus been collected from highly porous substrates chemically conjugated with different functional groups, and these may be used in biomarker discovery for disease diagnosis.

Targeted proteomic approach in prostatic tissue: a panel of potential biomarkers for cancer detection.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the sixth highest causes of cancer-related deaths in men. The molecular events underlying its behavior and evolution are not completely understood. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the only approved Food and Drug Administration biomarker. A panel of ten stage-specific tumoral and adjacent non tumoral tissues from patients affected by PCa (Gleason score 6, 3+3; PSA 10 ÷19 ng/ml) was investigated by MS-based proteomics approach. The proposed method was based on identifying the base-soluble proteins from tissue, established an efficient study, which lead to a deeper molecular perspective understanding of the PCa. A total of 164 proteins were found and 132 of these were evaluated differentially expressed in tumoral tissues. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) showed that among all dataset obtained, 105 molecules were involved in epithelial neoplasia with a p-value of 3.62E-05, whereas, only 11 molecules detected were ascribed to sentinel tissue and bodily fluids.

A major allergen in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): complete sequences of parvalbumin by MALDI tandem mass spectrometry.

Fish parvalbumin (PRVB) is an abundant and stable protein in fish meat. The variation in cross-reactivity among individuals is well known and explained by a broad repertoire of molecular forms and differences between IgE-binding epitopes in fish species. PVRB has "sequential" epitopes, which retain their IgE-binding capacity and allergenicity also after heating and digestion using proteolytic enzymes. From the allergonomics perspective, PRVB is still a challenging target due to its multiple isoforms present at different degrees of distribution. Little information is available in the databases about PVRBs from Oncorhynchus mykiss. At present, only two validated, incomplete isoforms of this species are included in the protein databases: parvalbumin beta 1 (P86431) and parvalbumin beta 2 (P86432). A simple and rapid protocol has been developed for selective solubilization of PRVB from the muscle of farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), followed by calcium depletion, proteolytic digestion, MALDI MS, and MS/MS analysis. With this strategy thermal allergen release was assessed and PRVB1 (P86431), PRVB1.1, PRVB2 (P86432) and PRVB2.1 variants from the rainbow trout were sequenced. The correct ordering of peptide sequences was aided by mapping the overlapping enzymatic digests. The deduced peptide sequences were arranged and the theoretical molecular masses (Mr) of the resulting sequences were calculated. Experimental masses (Mr) of each PRVB variant were measured by linear MALDI-TOF.

Enhancing plasma peptide MALDI-TOF-MS profiling by mesoporous silica assisted crystallization.

Promising profiling techniques based on new material/solid phase extraction for capturing "molecular signatures" from body fluids are being coupled to MALDI-TOF-MS. Sample preparation significantly influences spectrum quality in this ionization method. Mesoporous silica beads (MSB), by the means of nano-sized porous channels with high surface area, enable harvesting of peptides from plasma and serum excluding large size proteins. We have investigated the morphology of a sample slurry, developed as a new tool for plasma peptides enrichment based on mesoporous materials. Our study highlights a correlation between crystals morphology and enhanced performances in MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. This is the first report which correlates the increase in signal intensity with crystal formation in samples preparations which make use of various kinds of slurries for the analysis of samples clinically relevant like human plasma.

Simultaneous inhibition of the constitutively activated nuclear factor kappaB and of the interleukin-6 pathways is necessary and sufficient to completely overcome apoptosis resistance of human U266 myeloma cells.

Elevated Nuclear Factor kappaB (NFkappaB) levels have been reported in multiple myeloma cells derived from patients relapsing after chemotherapy. In the search of an in vitro a model with molecular features similar to relapsing lesions, we focused our attention on an IL-6 autocrine human myeloma cell line (U266), characterized by apoptosis resistance due to upregulation of two constitutive signaling pathways: NFkappaB and STAT-3. NFkappaB activity was inhibited with proteasome inhibitory agents, such as PS-341 and Withaferin A, with an IKK inhibitor (Wedelolactone) or with the adenoviral vector HD IkappaBalphamut-IRES-EGFP encoding a mutant IkappaBalpha protein, resistant to proteasomal degradation. We observed that the NFkappaB intracellular dislocation at the beginning of the treatment affected therapeutic effectiveness of PS-341, Withaferin A and Wedelolactone; interestingly, the adenoviral vector was highly effective in inducing apopotosis even with NFkappaB being predominantly nuclear at the time of infection. We also observed that U266 treated with the Interleukin-6 antagonist Sant7 exhibited reduced STAT3 activity and preferential cytoplasmic NFkappaB location; moreover they became capable of undergoing apoptosis mainly from the G1 phase. Adenoviral vector treated U266 have NFkappaB localized completely in the cytoplasm and also showed downregulation of nuclear phospho STAT-3. Finally, combined targeting of NFkappaB and STAT3 signalling pathways was the most effective treatment in inducing apoptosis. These findings suggest that combined NFkappaB and STAT3 targeting warrants further investigations in other apoptosis resistant MM cell lines as well as in suitable MM animal models.