Polyethylene membrane as a sample support for direct matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis of high mass proteins.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) of high mass proteins (> 100,000 Da), directly deposited on polyethylene membranes, is demonstrated. The spectral quality obtained, using standard sample preparation conditions, is equal or superior to that obtained with metal sample stages. Compared to the use of poly(vinylidene difluoride) transfer membranes, this material allows the acquisition of excellent quality MALDI mass spectra from high-mass proteins with a standard UV laser. This gain in capability is not at the expense of either mass accuracy or signal reproducibility; both approach that obtained with standard sample preparations on stainless steel. In addition, for the applications shown, the use of PE as a sample support reduces the severe ion suppression effects typically observed in the MALDI analysis of high-mass mixtures. This permits more precise mass measurements to be made via the use of internal calibration and is illustrated by the mass measurement of a chimeric mouse/human antibody (MW approximately 150,000 Da) by coaddition of bovine albumin dimer (MW approximately 130,000 Da).

Glycation, glycoxidation, and cross-linking of collagen by glucose. Kinetics, mechanisms, and inhibition of late stages of the Maillard reaction.

The Maillard or browning reaction between sugar and protein contributes to the increased chemical modification and cross-linking of long-lived tissue proteins in diabetes. To evaluate the role of glycation and oxidation in these reactions, we have studied the effects of oxidative and antioxidative conditions and various types of inhibitors on the reaction of glucose with rat tail tendon collagen in phosphate buffer at physiological pH and temperature. The chemical modifications of collagen that were measured included fructoselysine, the glycoxidation products N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine and pentosidine and fluorescence. Collagen cross-linking was evaluated by analysis of cyanogen bromide peptides using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and by changes in collagen solubilization on treatment with pepsin or sodium dodecylsulfate. Although glycation was unaffected, formation of glycoxidation products and cross-linking of collagen were inhibited by antioxidative conditions. The kinetics of formation of glycoxidation products proceeded with a short lag phase and were independent of the amount of Amadori adduct on the protein, suggesting that autoxidative degradation of glucose was a major contributor to glycoxidation and cross-linking reactions. Chelators, sulfhydryl compounds, antioxidants, and aminoguanidine also inhibited formation of glycoxidation products, generation of fluorescence, and cross-linking of collagen without significant effect on the extent of glycation of the protein. We conclude that autoxidation of glucose or Amadori compounds on protein plays a major role in the formation of glycoxidation products and cross-liking of collagen by glucose in vitro and that chelators, sulfhydryl compounds, antioxidants, and aminoguanidine act as uncouplers of glycation from subsequent glycoxidation and cross-linking reactions.

Formation of pentosidine during nonenzymatic browning of proteins by glucose. Identification of glucose and other carbohydrates as possible precursors of pentosidine in vivo.

A fluorescent compound has been detected in proteins browned during Maillard reactions with glucose in vitro and shown to be identical to pentosidine, a pentose-derived fluorescent cross-link formed between arginine and lysine residues in collagen (Sell, D. R., and Monnier, V. M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 21597-21602). Pentosidine was the major fluorophore formed during nonenzymatic browning of ribonuclease and lysozyme by glucose, but accounted for less than 1% of non-disulfide cross-links in protein dimers formed during the reaction. Pentosidine was formed in greatest yields in reactions of pentoses with lysine and arginine in model systems but was also formed from glucose, fructose, ascorbate, Amadori compounds, 3-deoxyglucosone, and other sugars. Pentosidine was not formed from peroxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids or malondialdehyde. Its formation from carbohydrates was inhibited under nitrogen or anaerobic conditions and by aminoguanidine, an inhibitor of advanced glycation and browning reactions. Pentosidine was detected in human lens proteins, where its concentration increased gradually with age, but it did not exceed trace concentrations (less than or equal to 5 mumol/mol lysine), even in the 80-year-old lens. Although its precise carbohydrate source in vivo is uncertain and it is present in only trace concentrations in tissue proteins, pentosidine appears to be a useful biomarker for assessing cumulative damage to proteins by nonenzymatic browning reactions with carbohydrates.

The Maillard reaction in vivo.

The Maillard or browning reaction between reducing sugars and protein contributes to the chemical deterioration and loss of nutritional value of proteins during food processing and storage. This article presents and discusses evidence that the Maillard reaction is also involved in the chemical aging of long-lived proteins in human tissues. While the concentration of the Amadori adduct of glucose to lens protein and skin collagen is relatively constant with age, products of sequential glycation and oxidation of protein, termed glycoxidation products, accumulate in these long-lived proteins with advancing age and at an accelerated rate in diabetes. Among these products are the chemically modified amino acids, N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)hydroxylysine (CMhL), and the fluorescent crosslink, pentosidine. While these glycoxidation products are present at only trace levels in tissue proteins, there is strong evidence for the presence of other browning products which remain to be characterized. Mechanisms for detoxifying reactive intermediates in the Maillard reaction and catabolism of extensively browned proteins are also discussed, along with recent approaches for therapeutic modulation of advanced stages of the Maillard reaction.