Amyloid Hydrogen Bonding Polymorphism Evaluated by (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR Solid-State NMR and Ultra-High Resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry.

A combined approach, using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and solid-state NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), shows a high degree of polymorphism exhibited by Aß species in forming hydrogen-bonded networks. Two Alzheimer's Aß peptides, Ac-Aß(16-22)-NH2 and Aß(11-25), selectively labeled with (17)O and (15)N at specific amino acid residues were investigated. The total amount of peptides labeled with (17)O as measured by FTICR-MS enabled the interpretation of dephasing observed in (15)N{(17)O}REAPDOR solid-state NMR experiments. Specifically, about one-third of the Aß peptides were found to be involved in the formation of a specific >C═(17)O···H-(15)N hydrogen bond with their neighbor peptide molecules, and we hypothesize that the rest of the molecules undergo ± n off-registry shifts in their hydrogen bonding networks.

Parkinson's VPS35[D620N] mutation induces LRRK2-mediated lysosomal association of RILPL1 and TMEM55B.

We demonstrate that the Parkinson's VPS35[D620N] mutation alters the expression of ~220 lysosomal proteins and stimulates recruitment and phosphorylation of Rab proteins at the lysosome. This recruits the phospho-Rab effector protein RILPL1 to the lysosome where it binds to the lysosomal integral membrane protein TMEM55B. We identify highly conserved regions of RILPL1 and TMEM55B that interact and design mutations that block binding. In mouse fibroblasts, brain, and lung, we demonstrate that the VPS35[D620N] mutation reduces RILPL1 levels, in a manner reversed by LRRK2 inhibition and proteasome inhibitors. Knockout of RILPL1 enhances phosphorylation of Rab substrates, and knockout of TMEM55B increases RILPL1 levels. The lysosomotropic agent LLOMe also induced LRRK2 kinase-mediated association of RILPL1 to the lysosome, but to a lower extent than the D620N mutation. Our study uncovers a pathway through which dysfunctional lysosomes resulting from the VPS35[D620N] mutation recruit and activate LRRK2 on the lysosomal surface, driving assembly of the RILPL1-TMEM55B complex.

Use of high resolution mass spectrometry for analysis of polymeric excipients in drug delivery formulations.

Two polymeric excipients, typically used in enabling drug delivery approaches, are Gelucire 44/14 (a product of Gattefosse s.a, St Priest, France) and polysorbate 80; these are known to improve solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs and, hence, increase their effective bioavailability. In addition to the use of Gelucire 44/14 and polysorbate 80 as excipients in drugs, they are also widely used as cosmetic and food additives. In general, complex structures and compositions of drug excipients impact performance of the formulation in vivo and consequently affect drug absorption. Therefore, a comparison between excipients from different suppliers and batches to batch would provide an indication of the impact on drug product performance and also the study of the effectiveness of the system and any problems associated with the formulation. In this study, high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS) is used to compare two different batches of Gelucire 44/14 and polysorbate 80. With the high resolving power of FTICR MS, it was possible to differentiate between batches of excipients from differences in the identified components. The improved resolution offered by FTICR MS allowed assignment of four polymeric series differences in the two batches of polysorbate 80 and the presence of one compound and three polymeric series differences in the two batches of Gelucire 44/14. The increase in the number of components assigned in the excipients batch using FTICR-MS, compared to the numbers previously assigned by lower resolution TOF MS, underlines the importance of high resolution techniques in analysis of highly complex mixtures.

Bottom-Up Two-Dimensional Electron-Capture Dissociation Mass Spectrometry of Calmodulin.

Two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2D MS) is a tandem mass spectrometry technique that allows data-independent fragmentation of all precursors in a mixture without previous isolation, through modulation of the ion cyclotron frequency in the ICR-cell prior to fragmentation. Its power as an analytical technique has been proven particularly for proteomics. Recently, a comparison study between 1D and 2D MS has been performed using infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) on calmodulin (CaM), highlighting the capabilities of the technique in both top-down (TDP) and bottom-up proteomics (BUP). The goal of this work is to expand this study on CaM using electron-capture dissociation (ECD) 2D MS as a single complementary BUP experiment in order to enhance the cleavage coverage of the protein under analysis. By adding the results of the BUP 2D ECD MS to the 2D IRMPD MS analysis of CaM, the total cleavage coverage increased from ~40% to ~68%. Graphical abstract ᅟ.