Diagnosing pleural effusions using mass spectrometry-based multiplexed targeted proteomics quantitating mid- to high-abundance markers of cancer, infection/inflammation and tuberculosis.

Pleural effusion (PE) is excess fluid in the pleural cavity that stems from lung cancer, other diseases like extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia, or from a variety of benign conditions. Diagnosing its cause is often a clinical challenge and we have applied targeted proteomic methods with the aim of aiding the determination of PE etiology. We developed a mass spectrometry (MS)-based multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-protein-panel assay to precisely quantitate 53 established cancer-markers, TB-markers, and infection/inflammation-markers currently assessed individually in the clinic, as well as potential biomarkers suggested in the literature for PE classification. Since MS-based proteomic assays are on the cusp of entering clinical use, we assessed the merits of such an approach and this marker panel based on a single-center 209 patient cohort with established etiology. We observed groups of infection/inflammation markers (ADA2, WARS, CXCL10, S100A9, VIM, APCS, LGALS1, CRP, MMP9, and LDHA) that specifically discriminate TB-PEs and other-infectious-PEs, and a number of cancer markers (CDH1, MUC1/CA-15-3, THBS4, MSLN, HPX, SVEP1, SPINT1, CK-18, and CK-8) that discriminate cancerous-PEs. Some previously suggested potential biomarkers did not show any significant difference. Using a Decision Tree/Multiclass classification method, we show a very good discrimination ability for classifying PEs into one of four types: cancerous-PEs (AUC: 0.863), tuberculous-PEs (AUC of 0.859), other-infectious-PEs (AUC of 0.863), and benign-PEs (AUC: 0.842). This type of approach and the indicated markers have the potential to assist in clinical diagnosis in the future, and help with the difficult decision on therapy guidance.

HaDeX: an R package and web-server for analysis of data from hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry experiments.

MOTIVATION: Hydrogen-deuterium mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a rapidly developing technique for monitoring dynamics and interactions of proteins. The development of new devices has to be followed with new software suites addressing emerging standards in data analysis. RESULTS: We propose HaDeX, a novel tool for processing, analysis and visualization of HDX-MS experiments. HaDeX supports a reproducible analytical process, including data exploration, quality control and generation of publication-quality figures. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: HaDeX is available primarily as a web-server (http://mslab-ibb.pl/shiny/HaDeX/), but its all functionalities are also accessible as the R package (https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=HaDeX) and standalone software (https://sourceforge.net/projects/HaDeX/). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Phosphoproteomic analysis reveals that dehydrins ERD10 and ERD14 are phosphorylated by SNF1-related protein kinase 2.10 in response to osmotic stress.

SNF1-related protein kinases 2 (SnRK2s) regulate the plant responses to abiotic stresses, especially water deficits. They are activated in plants subjected to osmotic stress, and some of them are additionally activated in response to enhanced concentrations of abscisic acid (ABA) in plant cells. The SnRK2s that are activated in response to ABA are key elements of ABA signalling that regulate plant acclimation to environmental stresses and ABA-dependent development. Much less is known about the SnRK2s that are not activated by ABA, albeit several studies have shown that these kinases are also involved in response to osmotic stress. Here, we show that one of the Arabidopsis thaliana ABA-non-activated SnRK2s, SnRK2.10, regulates not only the response to salinity but also the plant sensitivity to dehydration. Several potential SnRK2.10 targets phosphorylated in response to stress were identified by a phosphoproteomic approach, including the dehydrins ERD10 and ERD14. Their phosphorylation by SnRK2.10 was confirmed in vitro. Our data suggest that the phosphorylation of ERD14 within the S-segment is involved in the regulation of dehydrin subcellular localization in response to stress.

Comprehensive list of SUMO targets in Caenorhabditis elegans and its implication for evolutionary conservation of SUMO signaling.

Post-translational modification by small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) is a key regulator of cell physiology, modulating protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. Recently, SUMO modifications were postulated to be involved in response to various stress stimuli. We aimed to identify the near complete set of proteins modified by SUMO and the dynamics of the modification in stress conditions in the higher eukaryote, Caenorhabditis elegans. We identified 874 proteins modified by SUMO in the worm. We have analyzed the SUMO modification in stress conditions including heat shock, DNA damage, arsenite induced cellular stress, ER and osmotic stress. In all these conditions the global levels of SUMOylation was significantly increased. These results show the evolutionary conservation of SUMO modifications in reaction to stress. Our analysis showed that SUMO targets are highly conserved throughout species. By comparing the SUMO targets among species, we approximated the total number of proteins modified in a given proteome to be at least 15-20%. We developed a web server designed for convenient prediction of potential SUMO modification based on experimental evidences in other species.

A Strong Neutrophil Elastase Proteolytic Fingerprint Marks the Carcinoma Tumor Proteome.

Proteolytic cascades are deeply involved in critical stages of cancer progression. During the course of peptide-wise analysis of shotgun proteomic data sets representative of colon adenocarcinoma (AC) and ulcerative colitis (UC), we detected a cancer-specific proteolytic fingerprint composed of a set of numerous protein fragments cleaved C-terminally to V, I, A, T, or C residues, significantly overrepresented in AC. A peptide set linked by a common VIATC cleavage consensus was the only prominent cancer-specific proteolytic fingerprint detected. This sequence consensus indicated neutrophil elastase as a source of the fingerprint. We also found that a large fraction of affected proteins are RNA processing proteins associated with the nuclear fraction and mostly cleaved within their functionally important RNA-binding domains. Thus, we detected a new class of cancer-specific peptides that are possible markers of tumor-infiltrating neutrophil activity, which often correlates with the clinical outcome. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifiers: PXD005274 (Data set 1) and PXD004249 (Data set 2). Our results indicate the value of peptide-wise analysis of large global proteomic analysis data sets as opposed to protein-wise analysis, in which outlier differential peptides are usually neglected.

A Multiplexed Cytokeratin Analysis Using Targeted Mass Spectrometry Reveals Specific Profiles in Cancer-Related Pleural Effusions.

Pleural effusion (PE), excess fluid in the pleural space, is often observed in lung cancer patients and also forms due to many benign ailments. Classifying it quickly is critical, but this remains an analytical challenge often lengthening the diagnosis process or exposing patients to unnecessary risky invasive procedures. We tested the analysis of PE using a multiplexed cytokeratin (CK) panel with targeted mass spectrometry-based quantitation for its rapid classification. CK markers are often assessed in pathological examinations for cancer diagnosis and guiding treatment course. We developed methods to simultaneously quantify 33 CKs in PE using peptide standards for increased analytical specificity and a simple CK enrichment method to detect their low amounts. Analyzing 121 PEs associated with a variety of lung cancers and noncancerous causes, we show that abundance levels of 10 CKs can be related to PE etiology. CK-6, CK-7, CK-8, CK-18, and CK-19 were found at significantly higher levels in cancer-related PEs. Additionally, elevated levels of vimentin and actin differentiated PEs associated with bacterial infections. A classifier algorithm effectively grouped PEs into cancer-related or benign PEs with 81% sensitivity and 79% specificity. A set of undiagnosed PEs showed that our method has potential to shorten PE diagnosis time. For the first time, we show that a cancer-relevant panel of simple-epithelial CK markers currently used in clinical assessment can also be quantitated in PEs. Additionally, while requiring less invasive sampling, our methodology demonstrated a significant ability to identify cancer-related PEs in clinical samples and thus could improve patient care in the future.

Nucleolar Enrichment of Brain Proteins with Critical Roles in Human Neurodevelopment.

To study nucleolar involvement in brain development, the nuclear and nucleolar proteomes from the rat cerebral cortex at postnatal day 7 were analyzed using LC-MS/iTRAQ methodology. Data of the analysis are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002188. Among 504 candidate nucleolar proteins, the overrepresented gene ontology terms included such cellular compartmentcategories as "nucleolus", "ribosome" and "chromatin". Consistent with such classification, the most overrepresented functional gene ontology terms were related to RNA metabolism/ribosomal biogenesis, translation, and chromatin organization. Sixteen putative nucleolar proteins were associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes in humans. Microcephaly and/or cognitive impairment were the most common phenotypic manifestations. Although several such proteins have links to ribosomal biogenesis and/or genomic stability/chromatin structure (e.g. EMG1, RPL10, DKC1, EIF4A3, FLNA, SMC1, ATRX, MCM4, NSD1, LMNA, or CUL4B), others including ADAR, LARP7, GTF2I, or TCF4 have no such connections known. Although neither the Alazami syndrome-associated LARP7nor the Pitt-Hopkins syndrome-associated TCF4 were reported in nucleoli of non-neural cells, in neurons, their nucleolar localization was confirmed by immunostaining. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, knockdown of LARP7 reduced both perikaryal ribosome content and general protein synthesis. Similar anti-ribosomal/anti-translation effects were observed after knockdown of the ribosomal biogenesis factor EMG1 whose deficiency underlies Bowen-Conradi syndrome. Finally, moderate reduction of ribosome content and general protein synthesis followed overexpression of two Pitt-Hopkins syndrome mutant variants of TCF4. Therefore, dysregulation of ribosomal biogenesis and/or other functions of the nucleolus may disrupt neurodevelopment resulting in such phenotypes as microcephaly and/or cognitive impairment.

Impact of OmpR on the membrane proteome of Yersinia enterocolitica in different environments: repression of major adhesin YadA and heme receptor HemR.

Enteropathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica is able to grow within or outside the mammalian host. Previous transcriptomic studies have indicated that the regulator OmpR plays a role in the expression of hundreds of genes in enterobacteria. Here, we have examined the impact of OmpR on the production of Y. enterocolitica membrane proteins upon changes in temperature, osmolarity and pH. Proteomic analysis indicated that the loss of OmpR affects the production of 120 proteins, a third of which are involved in uptake/transport, including several that participate in iron or heme acquisition. A set of proteins associated with virulence was also affected. The influence of OmpR on the abundance of adhesin YadA and heme receptor HemR was examined in more detail. OmpR was found to repress YadA production and bind to the yadA promoter, suggesting a direct regulatory effect. In contrast, the repression of hemR expression by OmpR appears to be indirect. These findings provide new insights into the role of OmpR in remodelling the cell surface and the adaptation of Y. enterocolitica to different environmental niches, including the host.

Changes in urine proteome accompanying diabetic nephropathy progression.

INTRODUCTION: Owing to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, diabetic kidney disease (DKD) becomes the major cause of end-stage renal disease. The current markers of diabetic nephropathy are based on albuminuria and clinical signs of retinopathy. Sensitive and specific noninvasive diagnostic tools, unbiased by the presence of comorbidities, are needed, especially to detect the early stages of diabetic complications. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyze changes in urinary protein excretion based on the stage of DKD using quantitative proteomics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 27 healthy controls were age- and sex-matched to 72 diabetes patients classified into 3 groups: no signs of retinopathy or nephropathy (n = 33), retinopathy but no microalbuminuria (n = 15), and diabetic nephropathy (DN) based on overt albuminuria or microalbuminuria with retinopathy (n = 24). To assess the intergroup differences, samples were partially pooled, tagged using 8-plex iTRAQ reagents, and the resulting peptide mixture was resolved by isoelectrofocusing. The obtained fractions were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Data were analyzed using the MASCOT software and dedicated in-house proteomic data analysis programs. RESULTS: The changes in the urine proteome following DKD progression involved some known protein markers of DN and several other proteins. Decreased levels of some proteins are presumably related to impaired secretory function of other organs affected by diabetes. In particular, a diminished excretion of pancreatic amylase and deoxyribonuclease I suggested exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), coexisting with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in the urinary excretion of some pancreatic enzymes suggests EPI associated with diabetes. This hypothesis is yet to be verified; nevertheless, renal and extrarenal confounders must be considered when interpreting the results of quantitative urinary proteomics.  

Urine proteome of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is responsible for 10% of cases of the end stage renal disease. Early diagnosis, especially of potential fast progressors would be of benefit for efficient planning of therapy. Urine excreted proteome has become a promising field of the search for marker patterns of renal diseases including ADPKD. Up to now however, only the low molecular weight fraction of ADPKD proteomic fingerprint was studied. The aim of our study was to characterize the higher molecular weight fraction of urinary proteome of ADPKD population in comparison to healthy controls as a part of a general effort aiming at exhaustive characterization of human urine proteome in health and disease, preceding establishment of clinically useful disease marker panel. RESULTS: We have analyzed the protein composition of urine retentate (>10 kDa cutoff) from 30 ADPKD patients and an appropriate healthy control group by means of a gel-free relative quantitation of a set of more than 1400 proteins. We have identified an ADPKD-characteristic footprint of 155 proteins significantly up- or downrepresented in the urine of ADPKD patients. We have found changes in proteins of complement system, apolipoproteins, serpins, several growth factors in addition to known collagens and extracellular matrix components. For a subset of these proteins we have confirmed the results using an alternative analytical technique. CONCLUSIONS: Obtained results provide basis for further characterization of pathomechanism underlying the observed differences and establishing the proteomic prognostic marker panel.

Diffprot - software for non-parametric statistical analysis of differential proteomics data.

Mass spectrometry-based global proteomics experiments generate large sets of data that can be converted into useful information only with an appropriate statistical approach. We present Diffprot - a software tool for statistical analysis of MS-derived quantitative data. With implemented resampling-based statistical test and local variance estimate, Diffprot allows to draw significant results from small scale experiments and effectively eliminates false positive results. To demonstrate the advantages of this software, we performed two spike-in tests with complex biological matrices, one label-free and one based on iTRAQ quantification; in addition, we performed an iTRAQ experiment on bacterial samples. In the spike-in tests, protein ratios were estimated and were in good agreement with theoretical values; statistical significance was assigned to spiked proteins and single or no false positive results were obtained with Diffprot. We compared the performance of Diffprot with other statistical tests - widely used t-test and non-parametric Wilcoxon test. In contrast to Diffprot, both generated many false positive hits in the spike-in experiment. This proved the superiority of the resampling-based method in terms of specificity, making Diffprot a rational choice for small scale high-throughput experiments, when the need to control the false positive rate is particularly pressing.

Yeast prion [PSI+] lowers the levels of mitochondrial prohibitins.

We report proteomic analyses that establish the effect of cytoplasmic prion [PSI(+)] on the protein complement of yeast mitochondria. A set of 44 yeast mitochondrial proteins whose levels were affected by [PSI(+)] was identified by two methods of gel-free and label-free differential proteomics. From this set we focused on prohibitins, Phb1 and Phb2, and the mitochondrially synthesized Cox2 subunit of cytochrome oxidase. By immunoblotting we confirmed the decreased level of Cox2 and reduced mitochondrial localization of the prohibitins in [PSI(+)] cells, which both became partially restored by [PSI(+)] curing. The presence of the [PSI(+)] prion also caused premature fragmentation of mitochondria, a phenomenon linked to prohibitin depletion in mammalian cells. By fractionation of cellular extracts we demonstrated a [PSI(+)]-dependent increase of the proportion of prohibitins in the high molecular weight fraction of aggregated proteins. We propose that the presence of the yeast prion causes newly synthesized prohibitins to aggregate in the cytosol, and therefore reduces their levels in mitochondria, which in turn reduces the stability of Cox2 and possibly of other proteins, not investigated here in detail.