An analytical pipeline for MALDI in-source decay mass spectrometry imaging

in Analytical Chemistry (2011), 83(15), 6090-6097

In-source decay (ISD) fragmentation as combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry allows protein sequencing directly from mass spectra. Acquisition of MALDI-ISD ... [more ▼]

In-source decay (ISD) fragmentation as combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry allows protein sequencing directly from mass spectra. Acquisition of MALDI-ISD mass spectra from tissue samples is achieved using an appropriate MALDI matrix, such as 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (DAN). Recent efforts have focused on combining MALDI-ISD with mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to provide simultaneous sequencing and localization of proteins over a thin tissue surface. Successfully coupling these approaches requires the development of new data analysis tools, but first, investigating the properties of MALDI-ISD as applied to mixtures of protein standards reveals a high sensitivity to the relative protein ionization efficiency. This finding translates to the protein mixtures found in tissues and is used to inform the development of an analytical pipeline for data analysis in MALDI-ISD MS imaging, including software to identify the most pertinent spectra, to sequence protein mixtures, and to generate ion images for comparison with tissue morphology. The ability to simultaneously identify and localize proteins is demonstrated by using the analytical pipeline on three tissue sections from porcine eye lens, resulting in localizations for crystallins and cytochrome c. The variety of protein identifications provided by MALDI-ISD-MSI between tissue sections creates a discovery tool, and the analytical pipeline makes this process more efficient. [less ▲]

Top-down sequencing of protein mixtures using in-source decay and software for MALDI in-source decay MS imaging

Poster (2011, May)

Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange combined to MALDI Mass Spectrometry : The Importance of the Choice of the Matrix

Poster (2010, May 25)

MALDI MS Tissue Imaging of Crystallins using an original metyhod to direct protein identification on lens slices

Poster (2010, April 16)

The lens is a transparent, biconvex structure in the eye that, along with the cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the retina. Crystallins, α, β and γ, are the predominant structural proteins ... [more ▼]

The lens is a transparent, biconvex structure in the eye that, along with the cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the retina. Crystallins, α, β and γ, are the predominant structural proteins in lens. They constitute 90% of water soluble proteins and contribute to its transparency and refractive properties by a uniform concentration gradient in the lens. Nevertheless, if these crystallins undergo post translational modifications, they become less soluble and the opacity of eye lens increases. This phenomenon defines cataract. Yet, the nature and the mechanism of occurring of these modifications and how they happen are not fully understood. MALDI mass spectrometry imaging is a recent technique allowing examining proteins in their native location without the need for traditional processing methods such as extraction, homogenization, and separation. Nevertheless, one main difficulty lies in the identification of the detected species, especially proteins. MALDI-In Source Decay (MALDI-ISD) is a fragmentation process occurring in the mass spectrometer ion source. When the analyzed sample is a protein, ISD fragmentation leads to b-, c- and z-ions series, which allows for some sequencing of the protein. One great advantage of ISD is its fastness and easiness to be implemented since there is no need for a special treatment of the sample. The only requirement is the use of “ISD-favourable MALDI matrix” such as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid or 1,5-diaminonaphtalene. 18 µm-thick equatorial sections of frozen porcine eye lenses were realized with a cryostat. 1,5-DAN matrix was either manually deposited or sprayed with an ImagePrep automated device (Bruker Daltonics). Data were acquired with an UltraFlex II MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer (BD) in positive reflector mode. For imaging experiments, the surface of the sample was divided into 100-µm-wide pixels and 500 shots were averaged on each. Based on calculated mass differences between consecutive ISD fragments peaks, tags of amino acids were established and submitted to a search in protein databases using a BLAST algorithm (search by sequence homology). Imaging experiments showed that the localization information may be very useful to associate fragments which exhibit close distributions, suggesting they are originating from the same protein. It is thus possible to arrange fragments in groups of probable origin and to extract the mass spectrum of a high-intensity pixel. This allows to work with a “purified” ISD mass spectrum where fragments of only one protein are present and potentially exhibiting a higher number of peaks, leading to a longer tag and to an easier identification. With this imaging strategy, we were able to identify (by homology) the Beta-Crystallins S and B2, the Gamma-Crystallin B, the Alpha-Crystallin A. [less ▲]

ISD sur coupe: un nouvel outil pour l'identification de protéines entières en imagerie par spectrométrie de masse MALDI

Conference (2009, September)

In Situ Lipidomic Analysis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver by Cluster TOF-SIMS Imaging

in Analytical Chemistry (2009), 81(8), 2823-2831

Identification of Ritual Blood in African Artifacts Using TOF-SIMS and Synchrotron Radiation Microspectroscopies

in Analytical Chemistry (2007), 79(24), 9253-9260

Fragmentation induced in atmospheric pressure photoionization of peptides

in Journal of Mass Spectrometry [=JMS] (2006), 41(12), 1554-1560