Use of 1,5-diaminonaphthalene to combine matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization in-source decay fragmentation with hydrogen/deuterium exchange.

RATIONALE: In-Source Decay (ISD) in Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is a fast and easy top-down activation method. Our objective is to find a suitable matrix to locate the deuterons following in-solution hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX). This matrix must circumvent the commonly encountered undesired back-exchange reactions, in order to preserve the regioselective deuteration pattern. METHODS: The 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN) matrix is known to be suitable for MALDI-ISD fragmentation. MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) was employed to compare 1,5-DAN and other commonly used MALDI matrices with respect to the extent of back-exchange and the uniformity of the H/D exchange profiles within the MALDI spots. We tested the back-exchange on the highly sensitive amyloid-beta peptide (1-40), and proved the regioselectivity on ubiquitin and ß-endorphin. RESULTS: MALDI-MSI results show that 1,5-DAN leads to the least back-exchange over all the spot. MALDI-ISD fragmentation combined with H/D exchange using 1,5-DAN matrix was validated by localizing deuterons in native ubiquitin. Results agree with previous data obtained by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Transfer Dissociation (ETD). Moreover, 1,5-DAN matrix was used to study the H/D exchange profile of the methanol-induced helical structure of ß-endorphin, and the relative protection can be explained by the polarity of residues involved in hydrogen bond formation. CONCLUSIONS: We found that controlling crystallization is the most important parameter when combining H/D exchange with MALDI. The 1,5-DAN matrix is characterized by a fast crystallization kinetics, and therefore gives robust and reliable H/D exchange profiles using MALDI-ISD.

Alzheimer's disease as an autoimmune disorder of innate immunity endogenously modulated by tryptophan metabolites.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neurotoxic immuno-inflammation concomitant with cytotoxic oligomerization of amyloid beta (Aß) and tau, culminating in concurrent, interdependent immunopathic and proteopathic pathogeneses. Methods: We performed a comprehensive series of in silico, in vitro, and in vivo studies explicitly evaluating the atomistic-molecular mechanisms of cytokine-mediated and Aß-mediated neurotoxicities in AD.  Next, 471 new chemical entities were designed and synthesized to probe the pathways identified by these molecular mechanism studies and to provide prototypic starting points in the development of small-molecule therapeutics for AD. Results: In response to various stimuli (e.g., infection, trauma, ischemia, air pollution, depression), Aß is released as an early responder immunopeptide triggering an innate immunity cascade in which Aß exhibits both immunomodulatory and antimicrobial properties (whether bacteria are present, or not), resulting in a misdirected attack upon "self" neurons, arising from analogous electronegative surface topologies between neurons and bacteria, and rendering them similarly susceptible to membrane-penetrating attack by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) such as Aß. After this self-attack, the resulting necrotic (but not apoptotic) neuronal breakdown products diffuse to adjacent neurons eliciting further release of Aß, leading to a chronic self-perpetuating autoimmune cycle.  AD thus emerges as a brain-centric autoimmune disorder of innate immunity. Based upon the hypothesis that autoimmune processes are susceptible to endogenous regulatory processes, a subsequent comprehensive screening program of 1137 small molecules normally present in human brain identified tryptophan metabolism as a regulator of brain innate immunity and a source of potential endogenous anti-AD molecules capable of chemical modification into multi-site therapeutic modulators targeting AD's complex immunopathic-proteopathic pathogenesis. Discussion:  Conceptualizing AD as an autoimmune disease, identifying endogenous regulators of this autoimmunity, and designing small molecule drug-like analogues of these endogenous regulators represents a novel therapeutic approach for AD.

Identification and quantification of concentration-dependent biomarkers in MCF-7/BOS cells exposed to 17ß-estradiol by 2-D DIGE and label-free proteomics.

This paper reports the identification of biomarkers resulting from the exposure of MCF-7/BOS cells to 17ß-estradiol (E(2)). The biomarkers were identified using 2 independent and complementary techniques, 2-D DIGE/MALDI-TOF peptide mass fingerprint, and 2-D UPLC-ESI MS/MS. They were identified from the cytosolic fractions of cells treated for 24h with mitogenic concentrations of 1, 30 and 500 pM of 17ß-estradiol. Five biomarkers were up-regulated proteins, namely HSP 74, EF2, FKBP4, EF1 and GDIB and one was a down-regulated protein, namely K2C8. Three of these proteins, EF2, FKBP4 and K2C8 are implicated in a network centered on the estrogen receptors ESR1 and ESR2 as well as on AKT1. After the discovery phase, three biomarkers were selected to test the presence of estrogens using selected reaction monitoring (SRM). They were monitored using SRM after incubation of MCF-7/BOS in the presence of E(2) for confirmation or selected xenoestrogens. Daidzein, coumestrol and enterolactone induced an up-regulation of EF2 and FKPB4 proteins, while tamoxifen and resveratrol induced a down-regulation. The exposure of all phytoestrogens induced the down-regulation of K2C8. These markers form a preliminary molecular signature that can be used when testing the estrogenic activity of xenobiotics, either pure or in mixtures.